


Fiery Ice

by inkspilldragon



Category: Voltron - Fandom, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Kind of X-Men au?, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, Mutant Powers, Team Voltron Family, it'll make sense I swear, klance, long ago humans and mutants lived in harmony, then everything changed when the Galra attacked, these are beautiful tags, voltron is basically a mutant rebel group
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2018-12-15 01:43:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 25,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11795829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkspilldragon/pseuds/inkspilldragon
Summary: Years ago, mutants and humans lived together peacefully. Nowadays, mutants are almost extinct due to the rise of the Galra Empire and their dangerous forces. Lance McClain knows this all too well as he is forced to leave his family behind and hide in Arus City as a homeless fugitive with a strange ability. Yet as the Galra forces invade his sanctuary, he finds that he may not be as alone as he once thought.





	1. Chapter 1

_“Sweetheart, it’s time to wake up. Breakfast is ready."_

_Lance slowly opens his eyes, blinking in the bright sunlight that streams in through a part in familiar faded blue curtains. His gaze shifts over to the woman perched on the side of his bed, her dark hair pulled into a loose bun, stray tendrils of hair hanging over warm, bemused eyes._

_“M-mom?!” Lance gasps, bolting upright. “I don’t…”_

_Maria leans forward, chuckling. “Strange dreams?” She asks, brushing her hand against Lance’s cheek. “Come downstairs, before your siblings eat all of the pancakes. I made blueberry, your favorite.”_

_Lance simply nods wordlessly as his mother stands up and leaves. He can hear the voices of his brothers and sisters downstairs, loud giggles and the occasional shout._

_“I’m home…” He whispers, looking around his room. The glow-in-the dark stars are still on the ceiling, a massive array of photos taped to the wall beside his bed._

_He stands up, peeking outside the door. Same hallway. Same walls covered in family portraits, even the occasional scribble of crayon down low. Lance traces his fingers over the little drawings, so familiar._

_Not trusting his eyes, Lance hurries downstairs, arriving slightly out of breath. The twins continue whatever quarrel they have going on, while Maria sets down a plate of pancakes on the table, balancing a baby on her hip. Lance’s older brother Alex has his cell phone hidden in his lap as he silently smirks at whatever plays on the screen._

_“Lance!” A small hand tugs on his shirt, belonging to a little girl with an impish face. “I was going to eat your breakfast, but mama wouldn’t let me!”_

_“Sophie,” Maria laughs, nodding for the girl to join her in the kitchen. “Come and help me with the next batch. You can put the blueberries in.”_

_Lance sits down in his seat, eyeing his siblings with wide eyes._

_Alex looks up, raising an eyebrow. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”_

_Shaking his head, Lance picks up his fork. “N-no,” he manages. “Just… still waking up.” He takes a bite of the pancake. It tastes like home. He allows himself to relax, sinking into his chair, the voices of his family lulling him into a calm state. His mother sings in the kitchen, joined in by the off-key voice of his little sister._

_A shrill scream and the sound of shattering glass interrupts Lance from his thoughts with a jump, his legs banging against the table._

_“Lance, your hands!” Sophie cries, eyes wide with horror._

_Lance looks down at his fingertips, the skin turning an icy blue. “I can explain!” he starts, reaching out for Sophie._

_A flash of blue light bursts from his palms, hitting the girl square in the chest._

_“Sophie!” Maria screams, gasping as the child begins to turn to ice in her arm, her expression frozen in shock. “Lance, what did you do?!”_

_Lance cradles his hands to his chest. "I don't-"_

_Sophie’s body shatters into icy shards._

Lance came to on the ground, throat hoarse and sore from screaming as he gasped for air. A nightmare… 

Propping himself up on one arm, Lance’s head promptly collided with the edge of the bench that he had just fallen out of. “Traitor,” he muttered, glaring at the seat. “I trusted you.”

“Talking to inanimate objects now, are we?” A familiar voice interrupted, slightly muffled. “You’re further gone than I thought.” 

“Pidge!” Lance jumped to his feet, only to look down at the short figure in front of him. Her short, mousy hair poked out of a thick woolen beanie, round glasses the only part of her face visible under a thick scarf. “You’re awake early!”

Pidge smirked, folding her arms. “Actually, it’s half past ten,” she said casually. “And Lance, you should know by now that I never sleep anyway.”

Lance’s eyes widened. “Fuck, I’m late!” He gasped, turning to sprint to the nearby coffee shop.  
     
    Snatching the back of his hoodie, Pidge wrenched Lance back with surprising force for her size. “Relax. Coran sent me here to look for you. He knows you like to slee-hang out around the park before work. He’s not mad.”

    Hopping from one foot to the other anxiously, Lance shook his head. “Coran can’t look angry, he could have been plotting my death when he cheerfully asked you to find me, he could-”

    “Lance,” Pidge said firmly. “He’s not mad, he was worried. Galra forces tried to take custody of a pair of mutants downtown. The mutants blew up the entire apartment complex with explosives before they could be captured. Some civilians were killed in the blast.” She gestured towards the city skyline, where a plume of smoke could be seen rising.

    Lance froze. The Galra were here in the city. An elite force with an anti-mutant stance, a rare strand of humans with strange abilities, taking control of city by city across the globe. The very force Lance had been running from. 

    “But…” Lance said weakly, trying to control his thundering heart. “I thought Arus City wasn’t under Galran protection…” _They can’t be here._

    Pidge hummed. “They arrived last night.” She explained simply. “They have declared Arus City to be under its jurisdiction due to harboring mutant fugitives. Now come on, Coran will be glad you’re not dead, but you’re still late.”

    Allowing himself to be towed across the street by Pidge’s firm grip, Lance struggled not to vomit over the pavement. “Pidge, slow down!”

    Though Pidge relented, the city around them did not. Electric cars whizzed by on smooth roads, massive billboards flashing advertisements. Nothing seemed different, yet to Lance, everything was.

    Lance was nearly tackled by a ginger-haired man with a moustache as Pidge led him through the doors of The Lion’s Den, a cafe.

    “M’boy, I was terrified out of my right mind, I was!” Coran said emotionally, wiping a stray tear from his eye as he reluctantly let go of the frozen Lance. “We all thought you had died! When they said that the apartment building was mostly rented out by single college kids, I thought you were done for!”

    Pidge raised an eyebrow. “You were literally the only one who thought that, Coran.”

    Lance blinked as Coran bustled back to the counter, hurriedly pulling a scone from the baked goods display and handing it to Pidge. “As promised!” He said cheerfully.

“Hey!” Lance recovered, looking at Pidge. “Was the only reason you came to find me for free food?”

“Maybe.”

Coran threw Lance an apron, suddenly all business-like. “Hurry up, m’boy! We don’t got all day to dilly-dally!”

Lance laughed, tying the strings of his apron in a neat bow around his waist. _Glad I washed up last night…_ The funds he earned from working at the coffee shop weren’t luxurious by any means, but they allowed him to afford food and a membership to the local gym, where he could take showers and stay warm during the day. Only downside was that said gym closed at nine. He had been lucky in getting hired without questions being asked about his identity. Renting an apartment was out of the question. 

Pidge sat down in a corner, shedding off layers of coats and pulling her laptop from her bag, fingers typing furiously at the keys, scone already demolished. Lance knew better than to ask what she was working on. Previous attempts always ended in something hard being thrown at his face.

Ignoring the glances of a few bemused customers, Lance rolled up his sleeves and took his place as barista at the register, grinning broadly as a small group of people walked in, shivering in the winter air.

“Good morning, beautiful!” He crowed, winking at the woman who stepped up to the counter. “What can I get for you today? Make sure it doesn’t have too much sugar; you’re sweet enough already.” His grin widened as the woman giggles. 

“Just a caramel latte, please.” She said shyly.

Lance mock-gasped. “Does this mean… you’ve been thinking about me… a _latte_?”

Pidge groaned loudly, though Coran’s uproarious laughter drowned the sound.

Flirtations aside, Lance finished making the drinks in expert time, winking again as the woman dropped a tip into the jar. “I can feel something _brewing_ between us, can you?”

“It’s a wonder this place gets any business at all when you’re working here.” A tired figure said gruffly from the doorway, wearing a short red jacket despite the cold weather outside. 

“Keith!” Lance shouted louder than necessary. “My main man with the mullet! The zombie rises from the grave!” Already, he began to fill a cup with black coffee, no creamer.

Keith rolled his eyes, shoving his money at Lance. “Enough with the hair already,” he said shortly. “I see that you’re not dead.”

Lance looked over at Coran incredulously. “How many people did you talk to?”

Coran simply smiled innocently.

In the back of the cafe, a small flat-screened television played footage of the blasted apartment complex. “The Galra are warning all citizens to be on their guard,” a news anchor reports. Lance noticed that the normal anchor, a round-faced woman, was mysteriously replaced. “Mutants run rampant across Arus City. If you see anything suspicious, do not hesitate to call our hotline at once.”

Eyes on the screen, Lance handed the coffee over to Keith.

“This is cold…” 

Lance shook himself out of his stupor. “Sorry, what?”

“Nothing.” Keith said shortly, taking a seat next to Pidge and looking over her shoulder. To Lance’s surprise, she angled the screen for Keith to see it better.

    Hours pass, and Lance could feel his stomach growing more empty with every minute. _Did I buy dinner yesterday?_ Leaning against the counter for a moment, he closed his eyes as a wave of dizziness swept over him. _No, definitely not._

    “Breaktime, lad!” Coran cheerfully clapped Lance on the shoulder. “I’ll take over for a tick, there’s some pastries in the back, make sure to help yourself!”

    Lance looked at his watch. “Coran, my shift ends in half an hour…”  
     
A loud sigh sounded from behind him. Lance turned around to see Keith standing with his arms folded. 

“Lance, you look like you’re going to keel over.” he said bluntly. “We know you’re homeless. Just listen to Coran for once.”

Lance gaped.

Coran frowned at Keith. “Now now, I thought we agreed on a more polite approach.”

Keith shrugged.

A small hand grabbed the back of Lance’s hoodie yet again, dragging him into the breakroom. “You are all hopeless.” Pidge said mildly, pushing Lance into a seat and pressing one of her precious scones into his hand. “Close your mouth, you looking like a dying fish.”

“I’m so confused.” Lance managed. They shouldn’t know, he always was so careful in making sure nobody was following him. If it was this easy for some coffee shop employees to snoop into his life, how much did the Galra know?

“Calm down, I’m not going to kill you or anything,” Pidge said irritably, poking Lance in the forehead. “Actually, maybe I will, but not in public. Too messy. We found out because Keith goes running every morning at dawn and has seen you sleeping in that stupid bench.”

Lance nodded, taking a bite of the scone. It’s amazing. He downed the rest of it before Pidge can open her mouth again. “Coran is a good cook, am I right?” He chimed in, trying to change the subject.

Pidge almost choked. “Coran did not make that, otherwise you would probably be dying right now.” She sat down on a stool across from him, hazel eyes seeming to be dissecting his very soul like one of her electronics. “So where are you from?”

“That’s not something I’m comfortable telling you, sorry.”

Pidge leaned forward. “You’re underage. Seventeen, right? What would happen if Coran called the CPS on you?”

Lance jumped to his feet, eyes wide and panicked. “Pidge, no, please, you can’t-”

“Then start talking.” Pidge shrugged.

“Look, I…” Lance began. _Think… think…_ “I ran away. I can’t go back, Pidge, you don’t understand.”

Pidge’s eyes seemed to soften for a fraction of a second. “Lance, was somebody hurting you?”  
     
Lance could laugh at the idea. His mother, who sobbed uncontrollably for hours when the pet dog passed away, hurting another human being? He didn’t think so. 

“No.” He said, shaking his head. “Not that. Definitely not that.”

“Then what?” Pidge pressed forcefully, brow furrowing.

Lance gestured vaguely with his hand, shooting Pidge a wide grin. “Home was… stuffy,” he lied smoothly. “I needed to get out, be my own person. My mother wanted me to start getting ready for college, help take care of my siblings, that old shindig. I wanted something fresh, exciting. So I walked out.”

Pidge’s eyes narrowed. “Does she even know where you are?”

Lance faked a laugh, the sound hollow in his ears. “Not my problem,” he said. “She’ll live.”

Lance watched Pidge’s hands clench into fists, eyes now hidden by the glint of light on her glasses. “You mean you abandoned your family.”

“N-no, I-”

“You walked out on a family who loves you and cares for you.” Pidge said icily, shoulders shaking with fury. 

Lance scootched his chair back, alarmed. _She can’t know._

The anger dissipated from Pidge just as quickly as it had formed. She removed her glasses, fixing Lance with a cold gaze. “You don’t know what I would give to have what you just willingly threw away.” Stalking out, Pidge slammed the door behind her, breezing past Coran despite his protests.

Lance covered his face with his hands, curling in on himself. _I left to keep them safe._

The door opens. “Lance?”

Brushing past Keith, Lance bolted out the door, throwing his apron on the counter as he passes. _They can’t know. Nobody can know._

“Lance, hold up!”

Ignoring the calls coming from inside the cafe, Lance ran to the nearby gym, flashing his ID card at the desk. He needed somewhere to hide. Slowing down, he slipped into the locker room, currently devoid of people.

Not bothering to strip out of his clothes, Lance stepped into a shower stall, turning it on. He couldn’t help the sigh that escaped past his lips as the water flowed down his arm, seeming to embrace him, comfort him. As he raised his hand, the element followed, hovering in midair above his hand. At his command, the water shifted from liquid to ice and back again, forming spheres, cubes, pyramids. Lance smiled bitterly.

_They can’t know._


	2. Chapter 2

Lance emerged from the gym wearing a clean set of clothes, his dirty ones stuffed in his bag after pulling all the water from the material. His eyes narrowed as he spotted Keith waiting right outside.

“Look, buddy, I get that you guys are worried about me and all that,” Lance said, raising a finger before Keith could open his mouth. “But don’t you agree that this is all a bit much?”

“What did you say to Pidge?” Keith asked bluntly, expression curious. “She won’t talk to me.”

Lance crossed his arms, fixing Keith with a sharp glare. “I don’t know why she got so angry with me, but what I _really_ don’t know is why you guys won’t leave me alone. I’m _fine_ , I swear.”

He thought he saw a flicker of hurt in Keith’s eyes, but decided it had to be a trick of the light.

    Keith looked around for a moment, leaning closer to Lance. “We owe a favor to a friend. We have actually known you were homeless for several weeks,” he admitted. “I mean, it was pretty obvious. Look… you know how Pidge is always on her computer, right?”

    Lance nodded, thoroughly confused at how soft Keith was speaking, the serious look in his eyes.

    “She searches up a lot of… things,” Keith said, obviously struggling to choose his words. “She’s found that whenever the Galra takes leadership of a city, a lot of people go missing. Mutants are taken custody of in public. But normal humans… especially ones that wouldn’t be missed… they tend to disappear. It would be much safer for you to go back home if you can. Pidge was going to tell you that, but I guess things went south.”

    He should have known Pidge was up to illicit activity on her laptop. Lance smirked. “Aw, were you two worried about me?”

    “It’s not funny, Lance,” Keith hissed. “Staying out alone now is dangerous.”

    Lance’s smile faded. _It’s always been dangerous._ “I can’t go home, Keith. I appreciate your concern, Pidge’s too. I didn’t know about the missing people; that’s definitely creepy. But I do know how to handle myself.”

    Keith raked his fingers through his hair. “Fine,” he huffed. “But make sure you watch your back.”

    “You know it, mullet!” Lance grinned, shooting finger guns at Keith as he slipped past him towards the nearest fast-food restaurant. _That was… weird._ Glancing back, he saw Keith walking back in the direction of the cafe.

    “Keith, wait!” He called out, frowning.

    Keith turned around, raising an eyebrow. “What?”

    “You said you and Pidge owe somebody a favor? What do you mean?”

    “No, I didn’t.” Keith said lamely, turning back and walking towards the cafe. “My shift starts soon. I have to go.”  
    

 

    Several hours and a Happy Meal later, Lance aimlessly walked the streets, finding himself unconsciously drifting back towards The Lion’s Den. _I should apologize to Coran for walking out on him like that anyway… And ask him for my paycheck early so I can get away._ He sighed, dragging his feet. Even in just the short time he had been working at the establishment, he had already grown close to its frequent patrons and staff. It had been safe.

    _Though Pidge hates my guts right now…_ Lance thought glumly

    Lance jumped as an alarm blared through the streets, deafeningly loud. “What the hell?!” he yelped, looking around at the people panicking in the streets.

    “Lance, come here, quickly!” Coran beckoned from the doorway. “It’s not safe out there, lad!”

    Mind reeling, Lance jogged to the entrance of The Lion’s Den, gaping as Coran wrenched him inside and shut the door behind him.

    “Coran, what’s going on?!” Lance panicked, looking around at the empty shop. _Shouldn’t Keith be working his shift right now?_

    Coran didn’t answer for a moment, typing something frantically on a tablet in his hand. “Lance, listen to me,” he said, voice lacking all of its normal cheer and laughter. “Stay in here, alright? I have to go somewhere, but stay here until I come back, do you understand?”

    Lance blinked. “No?”

    “It’s a quiznaking Galra raid,” Coran muttered. “They must have been tipped off about a mutant on this street… poor fool probably used an ability where the Galra planted cameras, they’re everywhere.”

    Lance closed his eyes for a moment. “Coran…”

    “My boy, I apologize, but I really have to go.” Coran said, slipping the tablet into his pocket.

    Lance gave Coran a small smile. “No, Coran, I’m sorry.”

    “Whatever for, lad?”

    The sink pipes suddenly burst, flooding the floor of the cafe. Lance thrust his hand towards Coran, a wave of water freezing around the man’s leg to hold him in place. _That way they don’t think he was in league with me…_ Water trailing from his fingertips, Lance bolted out the door, Coran’s cries for him to stop lost in the wails of the alarm.

Dark vans were pulling up at the end of the street, a steady stream of people dressed in protective gear filing from its door.

Lance looked at the line of Galra forces, shooting them a cocky grin. _Guess it’s too late to run. They’ll check the blood of everybody on this street._ “A party?” he joked, voice sounding hollow. “For me? You shouldn’t have!”

“Mutant fugitive,” a quiet voice commands, a woman’s. Lance could see a purple armband on the Galra operative in the front. _She must be their leader._ “Surrender yourself to us now, and you will not be harmed.”

Lance scoffed. “Oh, really?” Water swirled around his ankles, beginning to rise to his knees. “I _really_ doubt that.”

“Allow me to rephrase.” The woman said calmly, raising a gun. “My name is Acxa. Surrender now, or you will be forcefully removed for the safety of the empire.”

    Shaking his head, Lance raised a sphere of water in front of him. “I appreciate the hospitality lady, but no thanks.”    

    Acxa nodded. “Very well.” Aiming her sights on the mutant teen in front of her, she began to pull the trigger, freezing as the van behind her began to move. “Soldier, what are you doing?”  
     
    Lance’s brow furrowed. “I take it that’s not normal.”

    Honking wildly, the car turned to the side, allowing Lance a full view of its driver.

    The seats were all empty.

    Acxa cursed softly, barking quick commands at the soldiers around her. “It’s the green paladin! Don’t let them get away!”

    Lance stared. “The what now?” A scream escaped his throat as a fireball whizzed past him from behind, hitting a Galra soldier aiming their weapon at Lance square in the chest.

    “You didn’t say you were a mutant, you _idiot._ ”  
Whirling around, Lance was suddenly face to face with a figure in red and white combat gear, a tinted helmet covering their face. Yet the dark mullet poking out of the back was easily recognizable to Lance. Keith covered Lance’s mouth before he could even squeak.

“Don’t say my name, not here. Green has bought all the time she can. Stay close to me. Use your abilities.”

The van exploded, sending Acxa and her men flying. 

“That’s her signal, come on!” Keith said, dragging Lance behind him.

“Dude, what the actual hell?!” Lance managed.

Keith sent another fireball flying, aimed towards Acxa. He swore as the woman dodged the attack easily, sending back a shot of her own.

Raising a ball of water up, Lance flung it at the projectile, freezing the water and bringing it to a complete stop. The icicle crashed harmlessly to the ground, shattering into fragments. He looked down at the thin dart. “Is that a tranquilizer?”

Nodding, Keith pulled Lance to the side to avoid another shot. “Don’t get hit. The dosage is enough to knock out a large male. They don’t really care if you survive or not.”

“That general is too strong for you to take down, Red.” A disembodied voice called from beside Keith.

Lance screamed. 

“Hey, hey, it’s me,” the voice said calmly, a familiar small hand lightly smacking Lance on the cheek. “I’m invisible. Don’t say my name, even though it’s just an alias…”

_Pidge._ Lance nodded, eyes wide. “Please tell me you guys are going to explain everything…”

“Probably,” Pidge said. Lance could bet she was shrugging. “I mean, Gold would kill us if we didn’t bring you with us now that we know what you are.”

Keith sighed, wrenching Lance to the side again to avoid another one of Acxa’s shots. The other soldiers began to recover from the van blast, getting to their feet and running towards the trio with weapons drawn. “He’s already freaking out. You just muted the coms. Again.”

Pidge hummed. “Oops.”

Lance sent a flurry of hail showering towards the Galra, temporarily blinding their field of view.  
     
“We just have to wait until Black and Gold come by in the truck. They already finished their sector,” Keith explained. “We’ve made our point that Voltron will fight for Arus City.”

“ _Voltron?!_ ” Lance choked. “You mean that new rebel group?”

Pidge huffed. “It’s not exactly new, but yes. Now get ready to fight.”

“I’m so confused, man.” Lance said miserably to Keith, surrounding himself with a ring of water.

Keith chuckled, pulling a knife from his belt and diving towards a Galran soldier.

Lance sent a wave of water towards a soldier approaching where he assumed Pidge to be. “Is Ke-Red actually bringing a knife to a gunfight?!”

    “Hey!” Pidge called out to Lance, ignoring his comment. “Make a puddle around their feet!”

    Lance blinked. “Are they going to have a splash party?”

    “Just trust me!”

    Raising his arms, Lance sent a flood of water roaring towards the Galra’s ankles. “Like that?”

    Lance yelped as a something sparked green beside him, making a low hum like a taser. 

    “Perfect! Red, get back!”

    Keith jumped back next to Lance just as the green sparks hit the shallow water. The air was suddenly filled with pained grunts and shrieks as the sparks travelled up and down the bodies of the Galra, leaving them convulsing on the ground.

    Pidge reappeared next to Lance, wearing a similar outfit to Keith’s but with green accents rather than red. “Fuck yeah!”

    “Black says to watch your language.” Keith said, putting a hand on his hip. “And that they’re almost here.”

    “I’m still confused.” Lance reminded them cheerfully. 

    “We can tell.” 

    Out of the corner of his eye, Lance spotted a sudden movement.

“Look out!” Feet moving of his own accord, Lance tackled Keith to the ground, crying out as he felt a sharp pain in his arm and back.

“Lance!” Pidge looked over to see Acxa collapsing back over her gun, unconscious. 

Keith swore quietly, pushing Lance off of him and rapidly tugging three darts from his skin. “Hey, Lance, talk to me.”

_I’m so tired…_ Lance blinked slowly, eyes sluggishly moving to meet Keith’s, the helmet’s face no longer tinted.

Pidge pressed her fingers to Lance’s wrist, brow furrowed. “He’s shutting down. We have to get him back to the base as soon as possible.”

    “Lance,” Keith hissed, shaking his shoulders. “You need to stay awake.”

    He felt like he was floating, head stuffed full of cotton. The arms around him were warm. He could rest forever. “I…” 

Dimly, he could hear the low rumble of a vehicle, a screech of brakes. Flashes of green, yellow, black, and red. Worried violet eyes. Then nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter, finished! Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments!!


	3. Chapter 3

First Lance could hear voices. He recognized some of them, others unfamiliar. One stuck out to him, though he couldn’t quite place the owner. All of this was accompanied by a steady beeping from his right. 

Next came feeling. His entire body experienced an aching pain that throbbed in time with the beeping. He could register a soft mattress beneath him, the weight of blankets overtop. A large warm hand gently holding his hand. The touch was familiar, but again he couldn’t place it. As he grew more aware, the hand disappeared, replaced by a recognizable calloused touch. _Keith…?_

Lance opened his eyes, groaning as the light assaulted his senses. He heard muttered apologies, followed by a _click_ as the lights turned off.

“Lance.” So it _was_ Keith. “How are you feeling?”

As Lance’s surroundings came into focus, he met Keith’s worried gaze. Behind him, he could see Pidge curled up in a chair, fast asleep. 

“Do I have to answer that?” He rasped.

Keith smirked. “I guess not.” His smile dropped. “You scared us back there. We almost lost you. Hu-Gold was scared out of his wits.”

Pidge began to stir, mindlessly wiping a string of drool from her chin. Her eyes lit up as she saw Lance awake. “I’ll go get Coran!” She rushed, bolting out of the room.

Lance blinked. “So Coran is a mutant now too?”

Keith shook his head, bemused. “No. He’s a human. Though he swears that he has an uncanny moustache growing ability.”

Lance nodded slowly, muscles reacting sluggishly. “I have a lot of questions…”

Keith’s smirk returned. “You’ve been out for three days. Your location is classified for now,” he began, ticking off questions on his fingers. “I am the red paladin of Voltron, and Pidge is the green. Our commander is the lost princess of Altea. Coran is her guardian. Our leader is Takashi Shirogane, the black paladin.”

Lance choked. “Takashi Shirogane? _The_ Takashi Shirogane? The human who began to mutant rights rebellion before going mysteriously missing?”

“It’s interesting how you’re freaking out over Shiro rather than the news that the royal line to Altea still lives…” Keith noted dryly. “You know, the daughter of the reigning monarch of a peaceful nation before the Galra attacked.”

Lance gestured vaguely with his hands. “You work with the hottest man ever to grace the planet?” 

“Should I take that as a compliment?” A bemused voice asked from the doorway. 

Lance gaped like a landed fish, looking up at his childhood hero. He looked just like the newsfeeds depicted- rough, chiseled features and a muscular frame. The only thing different was a shock of white bangs, and a scar stretching over his nose. He was also wearing a loose hoodie and sweatpants.

Pidge snickered from behind the large man. 

The black paladin smiled kindly, stepping forward to Lance’s bedside. “Please, just call me Shiro. I heard all about your heroics out in the field,” he said quietly, setting a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “You saved my brother. That is a debt I can never pay you back for.”

Lance looked between Keith and Shiro. Dimly, he could hear the beeping beside him starting to quicken. “Brother?” He managed weakly.

Keith groaned. “Shiro-”

“Out of my way now, there you go!” Coran chirped, elbowing Keith and Shiro both aside. Pulling the tablet from his waist, he began rapidly pressing the surface of the screen. “Vitals are low, that’s to be expected, but you’ll be up in no time, my boy!”

Lance stared. “Sorry for freezing you.”

“All water under the bridge, as they say,” Coran waved him off cheerfully. “You just worry about getting back on your feet.”

Just as Lance was starting to accept that Takashi Shirogane was the brother of Keith Mulletman, a gentle British voice interrupted.

“I understand that this is all extremely confusing for you, Lance,” A young woman walked in. Her hair was a shock of white, framing a delicate face of dark skin. “My name is Princess Allura. I assure you that we will do everything to accommodate you as you heal.”

Pidge took one look at Lance’s expression and began shooing everybody out the doorway. As soon as he had space, she perched on the side of his bed. “There’s just… one more thing you should know before you can start relaxing.”

Lance groaned. “I think my brain is going to explode, Pidgey.”

Surprisingly, Pidge made no annoyed quip about the nickname, instead patting Lance’s arm awkwardly. “Sorry,” She said simply. “Hunk, you can come in.”

Lance sat upright, mind going blank. “Wait-”

In stepped Hunk Garrett, the gentle yet easily excitable giant. The same Hunk who could bake the best birthday cakes and engineer a robot in the same day. Lance’s best friend since early childhood. He gave Lance a small smile and a sheepish wave.

The same Hunk Garrett that Lance had attended the funeral of just two years ago, watching the wooden coffin being slowly lowered into the cold ground. A horrible accident they had said, a drunken semi truck driver simply going too fast.

“Hey, Lance. Long time no see, right buddy?”

Lance fainted.  
   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hunk is honestly a pure cinnamon roll that deserves the world.


	4. Chapter 4

As Lance came to for the second time that day, he had a sudden realization.

“YOU MADE THE SCONES.” He gasped, bolting upright, opening his eyes.

“Well, yeah,” Hunk answered, grinning broadly without missing a beat. “I make everything- whoa, calm down buddy, you need to-”

Lance gasped for air, everything suddenly becoming overwhelming. The beeping beside him grew frantic and horribly, horribly loud. “Y-you died, they buried you, you _died_...”

Warm hands gripped his shoulders, Hunk’s familiar face ducking into his field of vision. “ _Lance, you are going to take deep breaths, slowly. You are going to calm down._ ”

The words seemed to penetrate Lance’s head, everything around him but Hunk’s voice growing fuzzy and indistinct. He wanted, no, _needed_ to follow his instructions. His breathing began to slow, his lungs filling with air. The room suddenly came back into clear focus, the beeping sound behind him steadying.

Hunk smiled, the same familiar laugh lines crinkling around his eyes. “Better?”

Lance nodded. “Better…” Looking around the room, he noticed Pidge’s absence, brow furrowing.

“Oh, don’t worry, Pidge left after you fainted,” Hunk said cheerfully. “Thought you might need some privacy. She’s probably either in the workshop, playing video games, or eating scones. Or all three at once. Probably all three at once.”

Lance propped himself up on an elbow, assessing himself silently for a moment. Everything still ached, and he felt as though somebody had wrapped his muscles in cotton. _So not the best_. He jumped as a cool glass of juice suddenly waved in front of his face.

“Here...” Hunk helped Lance lean against the headboard with his free arm before pressing the glass into Lance’s hand. He took a sip. Pineapple juice. One of Hunk’s moms would always give him gallons whenever he came over…

Hunk sat back in his chair, scratching his neck sheepishly. “So I’m not dead, as you can see. At least, I hope not.”

Lance blinked. “Dude, if you don’t explain, I’m going to pass out again. Dramatically.”

Hunk chuckled nervously. “I can explain. Do you remember how I talked about a new friend I had made? Her name was Katie?”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Um, yeah, I do. You two were lab partners in that nerd club run by the library, right?”

Hunk nodded. “Right, she’s actually Pidge, I mean Katie is her real name, but everyone just calls her Pidge. Oh, wait I should probably mention that I’m a mutant, that might help.”

“Hunk, slow down.” Lance said mildly. “My brain is going to spontaneously combust.”

“Wait, you mean you’re not freaked out that I’m a mutant?”

Lance grinned. “I met Takashi Shirogane. And he’s related to mullet. Also apparently everyone in the coffeeshop is part of an insane rebellion. And you’re not dead. Honestly, things can’t freak me out more than I already am.”

“Why is Shiro on the top of that list?” Hunk asks, grin widening. “Also, Keith and Shiro are adopted brothers, that’s why they don’t look similar.”

“Right, right. So what’s your superpower?”

Hunk hummed, tapping his head. “I’m an empath, basically. I can’t read your mind, but I can feel your emotions. And when I talk, I can charm others into doing what I say. You know, charmspeak.”

Lance opened his mouth. “That…” Suddenly, everything clicked. How Hunk somehow always showed up on his doorstep every time he was feeling down, how he was always able to immediately guide him out of panic attacks, how he always knew when Lance needed a hug or a shoulder to cry on. “That makes sense, actually.”

Hunk smiled warmly. “Anyways, Katie grew suspicious of my ability after working with me. She managed to sneak some of my DNA and confirmed that I was a mutant.”

“Pidge is good at snooping…”

“Don’t blame her, Lance. I asked her and Keith to spy on you when I saw you in Arus City. I knew you wouldn’t leave your family… Anyways, she was actually on a mission to find and gather mutants before the Galra reached those cities. Long story short, we talked to my moms, faked my own death, you know the rest.”

Lance took a deep breath. “Well, that was concise, I suppose.”

Hunk nodded. “Part of Voltron’s mission is to maintain safe havens for mutants. They’re across the country, even the world. I wanted to help other mutants instead of spending the rest of my life in hiding, so… I asked to stay here. Lance, if I had known you were like me… I would never have left you like that. Leaving my family almost broke me, but at least I got to say goodbye and I had the others with me.” His voice broke. “Lance, I’m so sorry.”

Giving Hunk a small smile, Lance shook his head. “Take it easy, big guy. It’s just… why didn’t you tell me? I never would have betrayed you. You know that…”

“The same reason why you never told your family before running away. I couldn’t let you get hurt, especially if the Galra ever suspected something.”

Lance set the glass of pineapple juice to the side, throwing his arms around Hunk. 

Hunk didn’t hesitate to embrace Lance’s lanky frame. “I missed you, Lance.”

“I missed you too, Hunk.”

“I know that you two are having a bro moment or whatever,” Pidge interrupted. “But I really need to say something to you, Lance.”

Lance looked at Pidge over Hunk’s shoulder, making no move to let go. “Okay, shoot.”

“I was a super huge dick to you.” Pidge said, shuffling her feet.

Lance gave her a cocky grin. “And?”

Pidge shook her head, voice breaking. “I’m so sorry, Lance. I should never have said those things, I never even took a second to _think_ that you might be protecting your family, all the signs of you being a mutant were there, hell, Keith and I had been discussing it, yet I just _lost_ it, and there’s no excuse for it and I completely understand if you hate me-”

Lance frowned, gently untangling himself from Hunk’s hug. “Pidge, you don’t-”

“No, you deserve to know,” Pidge took a deep breath. “My dad and brother were captured by the Galra. Both of them were mutants, like me. That day, Matt and I had a fight, it was so _stupid_ , I don’t even remember what it was about, but I remember shouting that I just wanted some damn peace and quiet and I stalked out of the house and when I came back… everything was gone. I got so angry when I thought you had thrown away everything that I wanted, I just blew up… But it’s still no excuse for what I did, Lance. I know how much you gave up for your family’s safety.”

“Pidge,” Lance said softly. “I forgive you. I understand. If I had lost my family, I would want to murder anybody who had given theirs up like that.”

“And we’re going to find Pidge’s family!” Hunk pitched in helpfully.

Pidge bit her lip, hiding her eyes under the glint of her glasses. Lance suspected they were covering unshed tears.

Lance opened his arms wide. “Pidge, come join our cuddle puddle!”

“Oh, hell no.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much action in this chapter, but definitely one that hopefully filled in a lot of the questions floating around! :D Sorry for the late post- between marching band camp, school starting soon, and a nasty bout of food poisoning I was a little frazzled! I definitely plan to post more often! Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments and suggestions, I'm so excited for the plot to move along!!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

Lance ran his hands over his face after Pidge had bolted from the room, taking a deep breath. 

Hunk leaned back patiently. “Talk to me, buddy.”

“This is… a lot,” Lance said quietly. “Just a few days ago, like it even seems just a few hours to me, I was homeless and working at a little cafe as a fugitive with mutant powers. Man, that was _normal_ for me. Now, suddenly, everybody’s a mutant, I’m in the top- secret base of a rebellion, you’re not _dead_.” 

He couldn’t help the way his voice cracked.

“I know, man.” Hunk murmured, gaze morose. 

Lance reached out for Hunk’s large hand, toying with his fingers. “I missed you so much.” He whispered, holding back tears. “I… I just…”

Hunk sandwiched Lance’s hand between his own. “I know this is… a lot.”

Lance snorted bitterly. “Yeah?”

“I promise we can make it all up, though!” Hunk suddenly brightened. “I’ll make all of your favorite foods, we can have endless movie nights! You, know, make up for lost time!”

Laughing weakly, Lance leaned forward so his forehead rested against Hunk’s shoulder. “Just… don’t leave me again, please.”

Hunk shook his head. “I never should have the first time.”

Lance took a deep breath. “So…” he said, sitting up. “Is Takashi Shirogane as cool in real life as I think he is?”

Hunk laughed. “If by cool, you mean he sings off-key in the showers, frets over Keith and Pidge when they don’t wear coats outside, and hides a stache of Pop-Tarts in the cupboard, then sure, he’s cool.”

“Really?” Lance leaned forward eagerly. “Do you think he’d still give me his autograph?”

“He’d actually die of embarrassment if you asked, dude. And is the thought of being in the same building as Shiro really the only thing keeping you from spontaneously combusting with… everything?”

“You know it. Also, I think I’m still drugged…” Lance noted thoughtfully, flexing his fingers.

Hunk nodded. “Yeah, you’ll probably be a bit wobbly for a bit,” he admitted, standing up. Pulling a tablet from his pocket, he typed in several commands that made the steady beeping beside Lance finally stop. Bending down, Hunk gently slid the IV from Lance’s arm. Finishing his work with a bandage that looked suspiciously like Hello Kitty, he grinned. “First, you need food.”

Lance raised an eyebrow, poking the bandage experimentally. “Are you, like, a doctor now?”

Hunk puffed his chest proudly. “You learn a couple of things while on the team of a rebellion. But no, Coran is technically the doctor.” 

Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Lance blinked rapidly to keep a sudden dizziness wave at bay. “Whoa…”

“Yeah, one of those darts would have been enough to knock a guy my size out for hours…” Hunk said, steadying Lance’s shoulders. “It’s a good thing you knocked Keith out of the way… that general lady never misses, Pidge says she shot straight at the gaps in his armor where the joints meet. Even though he’s only slightly lighter than you, that difference could have been deadly.”

“You know me, gotta save those damsels in distress,” Lance winked. “Even if they’re dudes with mullets.”

Hunk sighed. “Keith would actually murder you if he heard that,” he said mildly, helping Lance stand. 

Lance blinked slowly, swaying in Hunk’s grasp. “You know, it’s usually it’s the ladies swooning, not me.”

“Yeah, buddy, we know,” Hunk said amiably, leading Lance out of the room.

The door led directly to a long hallway, the floors, walls and ceilings made of a dark concrete. Several doors lined the walls, each decorated differently. One was painted a bright fuchsia, another had a sign that read “FUCKING KNOCK BEFORE YOU ENTER AND DON’T TOUCH MY SHIT” in neon green letters. Lance could see that the swear words had been crossed out several times, but had been rewritten with the same green marker. He guessed that Hunk’s room was the one with bright potted flowers on either side of the yellow door.

The bright LED fixtures on the ceiling cast an almost clinical light over the whole area, but the dirty socks strewn about and cat toys lying on the floor offset the feeling.

Lance perked up immediately. “Wait, do you guys keep cats in this super secret apocalypse bunker thing?”

Hunk grinned. “Oh, yeah. Pidge and I managed to convince Allura that they would ‘improve team morale’. As long as we keep them from eating her mice, she’s cool with it.” Still half-carrying Lance, he walked over to the end of the hallway and gestured towards the massive room in front of them. “This is basically our living room. It’s also partly the kitchen, but a living room isn’t a _living_ room unless it has food.”

The first thing Lance noticed was the massive sunken couch in the center that stretched in three directions, easily allowing those seated to talk with each other. Pidge and Keith both sat in it, though Pidge hung upside down, typing furiously on her tablet.

Lance grinned as he felt a gentle nudge at his ankle, looking down to see a lanky black tomcat staring up at him with cool, yellow eyes. “Hello, beautiful!” He crooned, dragging Hunk down to let him stroke the cat’s forehead.

“That’s weird,” Pidge noted, not looking up from her tablet. “Blaze usually hates anybody but Keith. Unless they have treats, I mean.”

Keith startled at the mention of his name, blinking owlishly. An abandoned book lay in his lap as he looked up at Lance. “You’re awake again.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Nope, totally knocked out cold. Gonna hibernate for another three months. Need my beauty sleep, you know.”

“What?”

“Just ignore him, buddy,” Hunk said to Keith cheerfully, dragging Lance away from the cat in order to sit him down on the couch. To Lance’s delight, the mangy cat followed. “Stay there, I’ll whip something up. And if Coran tries to get you to ingest anything, run.”

Keith drummed his fingers against his thigh. “So… how are you feeling?”

Lance grinned, shooting Keith a thumbs up. “Bit weird, kind of think my brain is melting, but just great!”

Pidge snorted. “Yeah, learning your coworkers are basically all mutants in an epic rebellion that includes your dead childhood best friend will do that to you.”

“ _Finally_ someone understands!” Lance cried, throwing his hands in the air.

Allura entered the room alongside Shiro, engaged in what appeared to be a serious conversation, though her face immediately splits into a soft smile at the sight of Lance, one that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Oh, hello, Lance.”

Lance aimed fingerguns at the young woman, winking. “Hello, gorgeous.”

Allura visibly cringed. 

“We’re glad to see you up and about,” Shiro greeted. “I take it Hunk told you the basics?”

Lance tried to keep his jaw from dropping. “Uh… yeah, yeah, he did. Thanks, man.”

Pidge smothered a snort, earning a short glare from Lance.

Hunk returned carrying a large glass. “Here, I figured a smoothie is probably safe.” He pressed it into Lance’s hands, looking up nervously at Allura and Shiro. “Did… did you guys make a decision?”

“Wait, what?” Lance looked around at the serious faces. Even Pidge had sobered up. “What decision?”

Allura folded her hands, resting them in front of her. “Most of the mutants we rescue are immediately sent to one of our sanctuaries, even if they are injured, since each one has full medical facilities. The only reason why you’re still here is because the paladins requested it.” She said carefully. “Now that you are better and have been able to reunite with Hunk, it would be logical for us to find you a safe sanctuary to live while we resume our fight.”

“Wait, you can’t do that!” Lance shot to his feet, dropping the glass. Hunk dove to catch it. “You can’t just tell me that my best friend is alive after all these years and that I just have to _leave_ him and pretend that none of this ever happened!”

Hunk set down the rescued smoothie on the coffee table in front of him, setting a steadying arm on Lance’s dangerously swaying shoulder. “Lance. Let her finish.”

Allura raised a delicate eyebrow. “I said that it was the _logical_ option. However, all four paladins and Coran are in agreement that they want to extend you an offering to stay at our base. And, should your skill set prove complimentary, possibly even join our team permanently.”

Lance blinked, allowing Hunk to push him down into his seat. “Oh, okay.”

“I’ve been doing research on his bio,” Pidge chimed in helpfully. “He was part of his region’s shooting team. According to competition scores, his aim is legendary.”

Lance stared. “How did you find all that out?”

Pidge grinned mischievously.

Allura flashed Hunk a dazzling smile. “I’ll go show Lance his room real quick, since he can’t exactly sleep in the infirmary. I’ll bring him back.”

Hunk nodded hesitantly. “Yeah, okay.”

Lance yelped as he was quickly hauled to his feet and practically dragged across the room, but though Allura’s grip was firm, she held him gently and supported most of his weight. She led him past the flower door to a plain, undecorated one and pushed him inside. The room was sparce but comfortable enough, with a simple bed pushed against the wall. “Hunk’s room is on your right, Keith’s right across.” She said simply, her warm demeanor disappearing.

Lance raised an eyebrow, leaning against the wall. “What is it you want to tell me?”

Allura nodded, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. “Like I said, the paladins and Coran wanted you to stay.”

“You disagreed.”

“I… yes, I did.” Allura said firmly. “You could be a trap set by the Galra. You’re close friends with the gold paladin, and even Pidge wanted you to stay. If you really are sent by the Galra, you could easily destroy this team.”

Lance’s eyes widened in understanding. “You think I’m a spy. Why would I be a spy? They literally shot me.”

Allura shifted her feet. “The Galra… they are capable of doing unspeakable things. I allow you to stay only because the paladins trust you. But this team… they have become like a family to me. If you hurt them-”

“You will make me suffer in every way imaginable,” Lance said softly, eyes softening. “I have a family, several siblings. If somebody ever hurt them, I would rip them into a million pieces. I don’t blame you for not trusting me.”

Meeting Lance’s eyes, Allura sighed, her regal posture suddenly turning small and vulnerable. “I hope I can, Lance. You appear to be a good person. For everybody’s sakes, I hope you are.”

Lance grinned, shooting her finger guns. “Oh, I am the absolute _best_ guy ever to grace this planet, princess.”

Allura’s eyebrow twitched. “Let’s just head back, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist everybody having cats. I am weak.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys all so much for the wonderful comments!! They've super helped me figure out how to improve my writing! If there's any clarifications that need to be made or if ya just want to chat, please don't hesitate to message me or comment!! You guys are awesome!!!!!!!!

“So, what is the extent of your abilities? Like, can you create water from thin air? Can you control people’s blood? Can you create a tsunami?”

“Um, kind of, no, and I hope not?”

Pidge chewed on the end of her pencil. “Elaborate.”

Lance spun around in a swivel chair, fidgeting with his fingers. “Well, if it’s raining or humid I can easily pull the water. If it’s dry outside, I can gather like a tiny bit, but I’m super tired afterwards.” He elected to ignore the scritch-scratching of Pidge’s pencil. “I can’t control anything that isn’t water.” Kicking off the edge of Pidge’s desk, he felt the world tilt as the chair caught on a loose wire, dumping him ungracefully onto the floor.

“Careful.” Pidge said mindlessly. “Tripping hazard.”

Pidge’s room was a complete and utter mess. A loose nest of blankets lay on a mattress tucked into the far corner, a plain desk on the other side of the room completely covered in dissembled gadgetry. In the middle of the floor sat Pidge herself, completely unfazed by the chaos around her.

Lance sprawled on the floor, groaning. “How much longer? We’ve been here for _hours_.” After Hunk had deemed Lance officially settled in the next morning, Pidge had dragged him off, rambling about how she had a new test subject. Hunk assured him that she just needed information and stats for his medical record and future training plan, but Lance no longer believed him.

Adjusting her glasses, Pidge smirked. “Lance, it’s been twenty minutes, max. And after me, Shiro and Keith wanted to test your combat skills. You’ll be thanking me later for keeping you as long as possible.”

“Yesterday afternoon I woke up drugged out of my mind, Pidge.” Lance said dramatically. “In that time, I’ve met my dead best friend, possibly joined a rebel group, was hazed by a _princess_ -”

“Yup, you’ve stated that a million times,” Pidge said in a bored tone, grabbing a small plastic box from beside her bed and sliding it over to Lance. The box was full of little handmade devices, including interlocking rings and bicycle chains. “Here. Hunk told me you were ADHD. These all function as effective stim toys. Take as many as you want.” 

Lance picked up one of the rings, shooting Pidge a wide grin. “Aw, you do care.”

“No, your knee-tapping is just distracting.” Pidge said dryly, though she returned a swift smile. “So can you make a snowman that talks and sings?”

“Pidge, no.”

“Let it go, Lance.” Pidge snickered.

Lance scratched his chin thoughtfully. “I do look smokin’ in blue…”

“Right, right,” Pidge dragged Lance to his feet. “Let’s go to the pool. I want to see your abilities in action.”

“YOU HAVE A POOL?!” Lance screeched, practically tripping over his own feet on the way to the door. “TAKE ME.”

Completely unbothered, Pidge made her way to the hall, scooping up a massive Maine Coon. The large cat rumbled loudly, fixing its yellow-eyed stare on Lance.

“Oh, is that Hunk’s cat?” Lance asked curiously, reaching over to let the cat sniff his hand.

Pidge looked offended. “No, Java’s _my_ cat.” She pointed towards a tiny tabby cat by Hunk’s door carefully grooming its ears. “ _That’s_ Big.”

Lance snorted. “Hunk named that little guy Big?”

“Actually, Big is the scariest of them all…” Pidge muttered, gently setting Java on the ground. “Hunk says he named him because he has a big heart, but the rest of us know that’s a damn lie.” Turning the doorknob at the end of the hall, the scent of chlorine filled Lance’s nose.

Lance paused, breathing deeply. “Not the beach, but I’ll take it…”

Pidge dragged Lance inside. The walls were plain concrete like the rest of the compound, but he could see carefully placed mosaic tiles at the bottom of the pool, the colors of the sky. 

He fell in love instantly.

Ignoring Pidge’s sputtering protests, he slipped quickly out of his clothes, jumping into the water clothed only in boxers.

Pidge sighed as she became soaked in splashed water. “Thanks, asshole.”

Lance surfaced, easily pulling the water from Pidge’s loose clothes. He grinned cockily. “Can’t prove anything.”

Sitting down, Pidge pulled her tablet from her pocket, holding it towards Lance. “Alright. I’m recording. Show us what you can do.”

Lance took a deep breath, allowing himself to be submerged entirely by the cool water. _This… this is where I’m meant to be…_ Feeling it’s cool embrace, he lifted his arms, feeling the water rise above his head. It hovered over him, leaving him standing in the pool only ankle-deep in water.

Focusing, Lance allowed the water to become a solid entity with his soul, bending and morphing at his will. At his bare feet, icy tendrils spiraled from his toes. Twirling around, he mimicked a blade’s edge with the water above him, letting it crash back into the pool harmlessly. 

Letting himself rise to the surface, Lance splayed his fingers over the water, making it freeze into a solid mass and back to liquid again. 

This was his element, he knew as he continued to make the water twist and pull, spiral and solidify. This was a part of him.

“LANCE!”

Startling out of his trance, Lance yelped as he tumbled back into the water, quickly resurfacing to see Keith peering over the edge of the pool. Behind him, he could see the others, even Allura looking on curiously. _When did they get here?_ He could suddenly feel a drain on his energy, like he had just sprinted a mile.

Keith pulled him from the water. “You’ve been doing that for several minutes.” He said simply.

Hunk hurried forward, embracing Lance in a giant bear hug. “Dude!” He said in honest awe, grinning. “That was _amazing_!”

“Your handle on your abilities is definitely impressive,” Shiro commented from where he peered over Pidge’s shoulder at her tablet. “Especially considering how you would have had to train yourself in secret.”

Lance felt heat rise to his cheeks, jaw dropping. Takashi Shirogane has just given him a compliment. 

Ever the lifesaver, Hunk quickly stepped in front of Lance to pull a hoodie over his head, hiding him from Shiro’s view.

Lance looked over to where Allura had been standing, only to see that she had already left.

“You’ll have to forgive her, dude,” Hunk murmured quietly. “Her dad could control water, too. She’s gotta be reminded of him.”

Coran clapped his hands together. “Lance, my boy, that was simply stunning! I’ll whip us up some lunch to celebrate!”

Everybody else in the room visibly paled.

Shiro walked over to clap Lance on the shoulder. “Are you up to some physical evaluations? We’ll take into account your energy drop, but we should get a baseline.”

Lance tried not to squeak, simply opting for a nod. His eyes wandered to the arm still on his shoulder, the sleeves rolled up. Shiro’s right arm seemed… off. It was a paler tone than the rest of his body, a different shape than his left arm. His skin seemed cold, unnaturally so. “R-right…” 

Shiro smiled warmly. “I’ll go set up the training room. Keith will take you over.” Releasing his gentle hold on Lance’s arm, he followed out after Coran.

“I’ll explain later.” Hunk whispered, shaking his head. “Not now.”

Lance furrowed his brow, but didn’t pursue the matter further. 

Pidge looked up from her tablet, shooting Lance a thumbs up. “Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

“It’s not that bad!” Hunk tried to assure him. 

Keith smirked, beckoning for Lance to follow him. “Come on. This should be interesting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a person diagnosed with severe ADHD myself, writing Lance as an ADHD is super important for me! If you guys have any questions about the fic please hit me up anytime!! If it's easier, my writing blog on tumblr is under the same username here if you wanna hit me up there (inkspilldragon)!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late post, I've been a bit snowed over with homework! I hope to have the next chapter written sooner for sure!! As always, thank you all so much for the wonderful comments and suggestions!!

Lance sent one last panicked look at Hunk, ignoring Pidge’s cackling. _Well, this is it. I’m going to die by the hands of Takashi Shirogane. I guess there are worse ways to go._

Keith’s brow furrowed as Lance caught up with him. “You’re nervous.”

Raising his hands up in surrender, Lance shook his head. “Nope!” He said quickly, voice pitching up. “Not nervous. Not nervous at all!”

“Okay, I guess?” Keith shrugged, walking past several doors.

Lance looked around, pursing his lips. “You guys keep any signs around the place? You know, ‘bathroom this way’, ‘secret evil lab to your right’.”

Keith gestured aimlessly, bored. “You get to know your way around the place. And if you want to find Pidge’s lab, it’s to the left.”

“Hey, Keith?” Lance ventured cautiously.

“Yeah?”

Lance pointed at his arm, hesitant. “What happened to… what happened to your brother’s arm? It looks… off. And he’s not a mutant, right? At least, that’s what the news reports said when he and the Holts started the protest for mutant rights.”

Keith froze, face expressionless as he slowly turned to face Lance. “He lost his arm to the Galra. They managed to arrest both him and the Holts. While they had him in captivity, one of their scientists decided to make him an experiment. They fused the arm of a dead mutant with regenerative abilities to his shoulder. The arm possesses inhuman strength and is impossible to break or cut open.”

“I… oh.”

Keith nodded curtly. “Don’t ask about it again. And _never_ bring it up to Shiro.”

“Yeah…” Lance started softly, fidgeting with the hem of his jacket. “That’s just awful, dude.”

Keith set a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “You’ll find that the Galra do a lot of awful things.” Turning back around, he set off at a faster pace.

“Wait, what happened to the Holts? You said they were captured too. Are they here?”

Keith turned his head, blinking slowly. “You… really haven’t realized.”

“Realized what?”

Facepalming, Keith sighed. “I… you know what? You’ll figure it out eventually. Just don’t mention them to her.”

Shiro poked his head out of a heavily reinforced door, raising an eyebrow. “Are you ready to get started, Lance?”

Lance didn’t realize he was staring in an awed stupor until Keith elbowed him in the ribs. “ _Ow! Keith what the-_ oh, yeah, I’m ready.”

“Alright then.” Shiro gave the pair a bemused look. “Come on in.”

Glaring at Keith as he pushes him inside, Lance’s jaw dropped. The ‘training room’ was a treasure trove of sparring robots, weapons of any kind imaginable locked in a clear case on the opposite side of the room. “Whoa…”

Shiro nodded, pulling a tablet from his back pocket. “We’ll have Coran issue you one of these by the time the day is up,” he said, holding it up. “You can use it to control most of the electronics around here, and it’ll get you caught up on all the information we have. It only responds to the fingerprints of the inhabitants of this base, so you don’t need to worry about it ending up in the wrong hands. If messed with, it’ll self-destruct.”

“Unless you’re Pidge…” Keith muttered, looking down at his own sticking out of a pocket. “She confirmed that it’ll run Doom.”

Lance covered a snort. “Really?”

“Alright, you two,” Shiro interrupted, though the corner of his mouth quirked upwards. Tapping something on his tablet, the panel covering the weapons case slid down into the floor. “Hunk says you’re a shot champion. Can you show us?”

“I’m not that good…” Lance said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “The other people in my district just weren’t very good.”

Keith wandered over to the case, selecting a simple blaster from the lowest shelf and tossing it to Shiro. “Hunk seems to disagree.”

Holding out the weapon to Lance, Shiro smiled. “Don’t worry. Just show us what you got.”

Lance cautiously took hold of the blaster, his fingers trailing over the smooth, cool surface. “You got this in blue?”

Shiro stepped back with Keith, tapping his tablet. Several holographic targets appear on the walls. “This one is just a simulation weapon. Everything on the bottom row is.”

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Lance narrowed his eyes, firing off six consecutive shots at each of the targets. As each bolt of energy hit the center, the targets all turned green and faded away.

Shiro and Keith both look surprised, Shiro’s eyebrows shooting up. “Alright, then. Round two.” The holographic targets reappeared in the air, slowly drifting around. “Remember, it’s just a simulation weapon, so it’s alright if you accidentally hit us.”

“That won’t be a problem…” Lance murmured, fluidly moving to dispatch each target cleanly. 

“Round three.” Shiro’s voice had changed, becoming lower and more serious. He wasn’t going easy on Lance any longer. The targets began to whir around the room, some flashing red. “Don’t shoot the red ones, alright?”

Lance nodded minutely. “Right.” Tilting his head to the side, he hefted the blaster up, releasing seven shots. All but one of the normal-colored targets winked out of existence. Lance easily dispatched of it.

“End simulation,” Shiro called out, making the red targets fade away as well. “Where did you learn to shoot like that?”

Lance grinned widely. “My mom.”

Keith choked. “What?”

“My mom was in the Olympics for shooting, won two gold medals,” Lance said proudly, puffing his chest out. “She was… _is_ a good teacher.”

Shiro’s eyes softened as he reached out to pull the blaster from Lance’s hands and replacing it with a knife. “This is also a simulation, so you two won’t stab each other. The blade’s edge is completely dull.”

“Wait, you two?”

Keith smirked, stepping forward. “I think he’s talking about me.”

Shiro nodded. “On your mark.”

“Wait, what are we doing?”

Keith raised his knife in a defensive position, prompting Lance to hastily try to mimic him.

“Go!” Shiro called out, clapping his hands together.

Keith carefully observed Lance, eyes narrowed. “Your balance is off. If I charge, you fall over.”

“Not if I run.” Lance said cheerfully, discarding a fighting stance for one ready to bolt. 

Keith’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure that’s… actually, testing your agility is part of this assessment, so have at it.” Stepping forward, he swiped savagely at Lance’s bicep.

Lance yelped, fluidly sidestepping the attack. “Dude, don’t hurt me!”

“I’m not trying to?” Keith responded calmly. “Attack me.”

“That’s not really my style, man…”

“Just try it.”

Biting his lip, Lance took a half-hearted stab towards Keith’s shoulder, gasping as Keith intercepted the blow and twisted the weapon from his hands. 

Keith raised his knife to Lance’s neck, holding his position. “You had a weak grip, and weren’t trying. Never hesitate on the battlefield. It could get you killed.”

Lance blinked slowly, making direct eye contact with Keith as he licked the hand holding the knife.

Keith screeched, jerking away from Lance. “What the hell?!”

Jumping forward, Lance tackled Keith to the ground, landing on top of him. “I win!”

Spluttering, Keith kicked Lance off of him, quickly jumping to his feet.

Shiro hid a chuckle. “Alright, that’s enough. Your marksmanship is superb, Lance, and your agility pretty good. Your close-combat skills need a lot of work, but that’s completely understandable. I think you’d make a good addition to the team as a sharpshooter. You have very good control over your abilities, especially considering your status as a mutant fugitive with no training.”

Lance’s cheeks flushed from the praise. “Thanks…”

Keith was still wiping his hand on his jean, grimacing. “That was disgusting…”

Shiro raised an eyebrow. “You used to lick the tops of the sandwich cookies to claim them as your own. I don’t think you’re the best person to judge in this situation.”

“That was years ago!”

Listening to the pair talk, Lance allowed his shoulders to relax as he followed them back to the living room. Hunk worked on something new in the kitchen, while Pidge perched contentedly on the couch with her computer. Both turned and grinned at Lance as he entered, Pidge even moving over to make room beside her. Lance grinned back. He could get used to this strange life.


	8. Chapter 8

Lance woke up in a cold sweat, tangled on the floor in a mass of blankets. Panting, he raised a clammy hand up to his forehead. _Nightmare… just a nightmare… they’re home, they’re safe…_

But the acrid scent of blood still stung his nostrils, screams still echoed in his ears. Lance whimpered, hiding his face in his hands. Taking several deep breaths, he looked up at the ceiling of his room.

Both Hunk and Coran had been ecstatic to help Lance decorate, bringing in sea-blue bedsheets and smacking glow-in-the-dark stars to his ceiling. Even Pidge had ‘helped’, taping a magazine cover of Shiro to the wall with an impish grin when she thought he wasn’t looking. But it could never be like his room back at home, crowded with siblings and the occasional random pet. 

In his own room back home, he wasn’t so _alone_. The glowing stars were supposed to be faded and cracked, the blankets frayed and stained. He shouldn’t be able to hear his own panicked gasps over the sound of his siblings’ snores.

Lance let out a choked sob, curling further in on himself. The last several days had been wonderful compared to life on the streets, and he had Hunk... but it wasn’t home.

Pulling his blanket around his shoulders, Lance got unsteadily to his feet, the cement floors chilled against his bare skin. Slipping out into the hallway, Lance hesitated at Hunk’s door. Hunk would understand, take him to the kitchen where they would just talk about the old times…

But if Hunk was awake he would have sensed Lance’s distress and tackled him in a bear hug already. _He needs his sleep. I’m not that important._

Thinking for a moment, Lance redirected his feet to the best place he could think of, to be surrounded by cool, sweet water.

When Lance opened the door to the pool, he saw he wasn’t alone.

Allura lifted her head, perched at the edge of the pool. Her bare feet hung into the water, swinging back and forth. “Lance?” She asked, tone suspicious. 

Lance froze. “Um, sorry, I’ll just head back-”

Allura’s eyes softened as she gazed at his tear-stained face, lit by the lights at the bottom of the pool that sent a wavy glow throughout the room. “That won’t be necessary. There is plenty of room for two.” she said quietly, reaching out to pat the area next to her. 

Hesitating, Lance carefully sat down next to Allura, letting his feet dip into the water. Even dressed in a simple nightgown, the princess still looked regally stunning.

“We all have nightmares,” Allura began, slender hand reaching down to cup the cool water beneath her. “And different ways of dealing with them. Coran, for instance, he started that coffee shop of his. He says it’s for collecting valuable intel, which is true, but it also helps him deal with the bad memories, his fears of the future. Hunk cooks, and Pidge locks herself in her lab or with her tech until she is too exhausted to fight sleep any longer. Keith trains in the simulation room until his hands are blistered and his ribs are bruised black and purple. Shiro has to remind himself that we are all alive and breathing, wandering the spots he knows the inhabitants of this base will often spend the night. He talks with Coran, drinks cocoa with Hunk in the kitchen, carries Pidge to her bed, turns off the simulator in the practice room and offers to spar with Keith instead so he doesn’t hurt himself. As for myself, this is where I go. It reminds me of my father.”

Lance shifted to face Allura, frowning. “Why are you telling me all this?”

Allura gave Lance a sheepish smile. “I was too hard on you. I still don’t fully trust that you’re not sent by the Galra, mind you, but I can see that if you were, it was unknowingly on your part. The last couple of days, the way you’ve thrown yourself into your training… you truly want to help. And I don’t want you to believe that you’re alone.”

“Oh.” Lance stared, taken aback. “Thanks?”

Allura nodded, returning her gaze to the water. “Your ability, it’s the same as Father’s… When I saw you use it, I felt like you were trying to take his place, erase his memory. It’s brainless, I know. But now I see how you’re just continuing his legacy.”

Carefully manipulating a ball of water into his hand, Lance swirled it around. “I miss my family…” He admitted. 

Allura set an her hand on Lance’s arm. “As do I, Lance. But this is our purpose now. And someday you will see them again.”  
     
“I know…” Lance folds in on himself, tucking his knees to his chest. “I just… I don’t know what’s happening back home. What if the Galra go after my family? What if one of my siblings is actually a mutant, and I just _abandoned_ them? Something could have happened, and I would never even know… I’d just come home one day, and they’re all gone...”

“They’re fine,” Allura suddenly smiled, giving Lance a soft and reassuring look. “Pidge worked tirelessly while you were unconscious. She erased all records of you from the internet, and set tabs up to alert us if your family is ever targeted for a Galra raid. Our intelligence system is better than you may believe. When they tried to capture you, we knew minutes beforehand that they were coming, but since they didn’t know your exact identity, neither did we. We will keep your family safe, Lance.”

Lance swallowed thickly. “Thanks…”

“And if your family is targeted, we will drop what we are doing and go to their aid,” Allura said firmly, eyes lit with fiery determination. “That is my ability, after all. I can create portals. Granted, they can only stay open a few minutes, and drain my energy horribly so I can only create one or two before I collapse."

Lance brightened. “You can create portals? That’s awesome!”

Allura smiled, pulling her hair into a messy bun as she talked. “I was blessed with two abilities, actually. Some mutants like Hunk have two abilities that are very closely related, like his charmspeak and empathic sense. Having two completely separate abilities like mine is extremely rare.”

“So what’s your second ability?” 

Without warning, Allura’s face suddenly shifted into a perfect replica of Shiro’s, beating his perfect eyelashes.

Lance squawked, tumbling into the pool.

Allura’s face morphed back, bending over as she laughed uncontrollably. “I apologize, but your reaction was very entertaining!”

Without thinking, Lance splashed the princess of Altea.

Everything seemed to freeze for a moment. Allura blinked water out of her eyes, white nightgown soaked. 

“S-sorry!” Lance managed, quickly pulling the water from Allura’s clothes and skin.

Then the princess kicked her leg out, splashing water right back at Lance with a vicious grin. Throwing herself into the pool, Allura surfaced gracefully with a laugh. “Your challenge is accepted!”

Lance didn’t remember when their impromptu waterfight ended, or when he fell asleep. But he did remember Shiro eventually waking him up at the side of the pool, with a soft pillow under his head and a pale pink blanket around his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN ALLURA AND LANCE IS VERY GOOD.


	9. Chapter 9

Shiro leaned over Lance, gently shaking him from a deep sleep. “Hey, buddy. It’s time to be getting up now.”

Lance let out an indignified squawk, clutching the pink blanket closer around his shoulders. “Sh-Shiro?” _I must have fallen asleep…_

Chuckling, Shiro helped Lance up. “It’s almost ten,” he said, expression bemused. “The others are up already. There’s something important we need to discuss.” Though he recognized Allura’s blanket, he tactfully decided to keep silent about the matter. He had heard the two splashing and giggling the night before. It had been too since he heard Allura laugh so freely.

Frowning, Lance nervously bounced from foot to foot. “Um, okay… should I get out of my pajamas?”

Shiro shook his head, leading Lance back down the hallway. Right outside the pool of scruffy black tomcat with only three legs nudged Shiro’s ankle, releasing a scratchy purr.

Lance grinned, looking at Shiro excitedly. “Hey, is that your cat? What is he named? I bet it’s something epic…”

Shiro scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. “His name is Blackie, Lance.”

“Oh…” Lance trailed off. “Well, that’s cool too.”

When Lance arrived in the living room, all of the base’s inhabitants were sitting around the long white table reserved only for meetings and the occasional formal ‘family’ meal that Hunk insisted on. Pidge looked only half-alive, nursing what Lance suspected was her third or fourth cup of coffee.

Coran greeted Lance with a bright smile, gesturing for Lance to sit next to him. “Good morning, my boy!”

Lance perched on the edge of his seat nervously. “Coran, shouldn’t you be at the cafe this morning? It’s a Monday…”

“This is more important, my boy.” Coran said mysteriously, twirling his moustache. “Besides, I’m entitled to a break every now and then.”

Allura cleared her throat. “We’re here to discuss our final decision on your place in our team, Lance.” She said bluntly, her eyes sparkling even as her expression remains formal and unsmiling. “You’ve been improving greatly in your training, and have a marksmanship far superior to anybody on this team.”

Keith leaned back in his chair. “Still need to work on your hand to hand combat, though.”

“What was that, mullet?”

“As I was saying,” Allura cut in fluidly. “As you know probably know, the legends of Voltron included five members. Black, red, yellow, green, and blue. In the previous team, my father was the blue paladin. Zarkon was the black.”

Lance choked. “Wait, what?”

Allura nodded solemnly. “In the original battle for Altea’s independence as a kingdom of their own ruling, all five paladins kept their identities a secret. The two were incredibly close comrades. They designed technology far more advanced than anything ever seen, suits and bayard worthy of being worn by the planet’s defenders. After their great victory, Zarkon grew… evil, lustful for power. Instead of maintaining peaceful leadership with my father, Zarkon desired to become the ultimate ruler of not only Altea, but of the entire planet. Mutants such as us were the only ones powerful enough to stop his incredible technology. So he eliminated them. Thus the war on mutants began.”

Even Pidge was listening intently to Allura’s words, though it was obvious that they had all heard the story before.

“As the only surviving royalty of Altea, my father left it to me to reform Voltron.” Allura continued, raising her chin. “And so I have managed to gather the strongest and bravest people I could find, each with a specific set of skills.”

Hunk shot Lance a thumbs-up, puffing his chest out proudly.

Allura’s voice dropped. “I admit… I have kept the position of the blue paladin open for as long as I could, turning down potential candidates because the only person I could imagine in that suit was my father. But it is time to put away my selfishness for the sake of this team and Altea.”

Lance’s brow furrowed. “Wait, do you mean-”

“On behalf of everybody here, I would like to offer you a position as the fifth and final paladin of Voltron.” Allura finished. 

Lance froze, heart pounding in his chest. “I-I thought you were just going to let me be, I don’t know, the guy in the chair? The man backstage?”

Allura shook her head, setting her hands on the table. A tubby little mouse rolled out from the inside of her sleeve, squeaking in protest. “Your skills surpass such a position, Lance. Do you agree to take on this position?”

Looking around, Lance’s gaze flicked over each of the table’s inhabitants. Shiro giving him an encouraging nod, Keith leaning back casually in his chair, though anybody could see how his shoulders were tensed. Coran twirled his moustache, Pidge raising an eyebrow over her fifth cup of coffee. Hunk grinned, eyes warm. Allura, her expression stoic as her hand drifted down to gently stroke the mouse’s nose.

“Well,” Lance said, giving the others a small smile. “Blue is my color, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all!! Just a short chapter today, I promise to the next one up soon, which will carry on where this one left off! I know that in the actual series Allura's father pilots the red lion, but I thought him being the previous blue lion would be a good reason why Allura hadn't filled in the position in the past. Thank you all for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

Allura clapped her hands together delightedly. “Excellent!” She said, standing up. “Come, we must get you suited up!”

Lance laughed nervously. “Wait, already? Like, right now?”

“Allura does not fuck around, Lance.” Pidge said casually, wiggling her eyebrows as she takes another sip of coffee. 

“Language.” Shiro chided tiredly.

“Allura does not _quiznak_ around, Lance.” Pidge corrected, smirking.

Shiro sighed. “Choosing a random word doesn’t change the intent...” 

“So by that definition when you say frick shoot dang you really mean-” 

“Paladins, _focus_.” Allura interrupted, shooting a sharp glare down the table. The chubby mouse on the table quickly retreated back into her sleeve.

Lance couldn’t help the shiver that crawled up his back. Judging by the way even Keith tensed up, the others felt similarly. _Right, never get on her bad side…_

Allura beckoned for Lance to follow her, the paladins and Coran following suit as she led them down the hall. “Each of the suits my father and… and the previous black paladin designed include an extremely complex artificial intelligence system that you’ll find quite useful. It monitors your brainwaves and will modify your bayard to whatever suits its wearer best. Unless damaged, the suit also serves as an effective heat regulator. Even if the entire suit is destroyed, the AI automatically transfers to a database here where it can be downloaded to a new model. With the suit, you will have access to information on the entire history of Voltron.”

“That sounds… fancy.”

Keith snorted. “Nice choice of words there.”

“It’s amazing,” Pidge said excitedly, gesturing animatedly. “They’re like nothing I’d ever seen before. Didn’t take long for me to figure it out, though. I’ve even made a few upgrades to the systems.”

“You ran Doom on your helmet.” Hunk nodded, grinning. “It was awesome.”

Allura stopped in front of an unmarked door, pressing her hand to a keypad and typing a complex series of numbers and symbols unfamiliar to Lance. Stepping to the side, she opened the door with a flourish. “Welcome to team Voltron, blue paladin.”

Lance’s brow furrowed as he stepped inside the dark room. “Is there a lightswitch, or-” 

The room suddenly flooded with light, illuminating the base of a plain mannequin clothed in blue and white polished armor, a sleek helmeted visor and a small, handheld device that resembled a horseshoe with a hammer. Beside the armored mannequin stood four others, all empty.

Stepping forward, Lance delicately trailed his fingers along the armor’s breastplate, outlining the cobalt blue “V” in the center. “Wait,” he said suddenly, turning around. “How do they fit everybody? I mean, the previous green paladin couldn’t have been as short as Pidge.”

Hunk hurriedly held onto Pidge’s arms to keep her from lunging forward at Lance. “They adjust to fit the wearer, dude.”

Allura moved to stand next to Lance, delicately lifting the breastplate and handing it to Lance. “You must put the suit on in order for the AI to recognize you as her paladin. Coran and I already entered your DNA into the system. If anybody outside of this team tried to put a suit on, it would not respond.”

Lance nodded solemnly, carefully lifting the armor and placing it over his head, dangling loosely around his lanky frame. Almost immediately, the suit began to shrink to fit Lance’s body. 

_”Welcome, blue paladin.”_ A soft, feminine voice suddenly spoke in Lance’s mind. He yelped.

“Is it supposed to… uh…”

“Talk to your brain?” Hunk asked. “Yeah. Yeah it does. Really, it just does so through minute vibrations.They’re so small and focused that only the wearer can hear them.”

Lance carefully slipped the armplates over his wrists and pulled on the pants and boots, staring in fascination as they too became smaller.

Allura picked up the helmet, handing it to Lance. “This is one of the most important parts of your suit. It allows you to keep in touch with the other paladins even in the heat of battle, and Coran or I will also regularly send you coordinates or other vital information.”

Gripping the helmet’s polished surface tightly, Lance cautiously pulled the armor over his head, the tinted visor covering his eyes. A screen in the corner of his vision sprung to life, displaying a photo of a broad-shouldered man with steely eyes framed by laugh lines, platinum hair pulled into a messy ponytail. He bore a striking resemblance to Allura

_”The previous blue paladin has left a message for you, Lance McClain.”_ The voice in his head said softly. Lance swore that it held a note of sadness, of emotion. _“Though you appear to be overwhelmed at the moment. I will show you the message when you are ready. Pick up you bayard.”_

Lance reached down, clasping his fingers around the small device. As he held the device up, it morphed into a slim energy gun, fitting perfectly in his hold. “Oh, yeah!” He crowed. “This is perfect!”

The voice laughed, the sound pleasant, almost musical. _”Of course it is perfect, blue paladin. It was specifically designed to highlight your strengths in battle. As the situation changes, so will your bayard. My sole job is to protect my paladin, Lance. And that paladin is you.”_

“What should I call you?” Lance asked out loud. To his surprise, none of the room’s inhabitants looked surprised.

_“My previous paladin simply called me Blue, as all the other paladins refer to theirs by color. Should you wish to change it, I will respond to whatever it is you find preferable.”_

Lance shook his head. “Blue is good. I like it.”

“Well, what do you think?” Allura interrupted. Her gaze was distant, lost in memories of the last one to bear the mantle of the blue paladin.

Lance shot Allura a grin, turning his head to examine his backside. “That depends. Does this make my butt look big?”

Allura groaned, though the corners of her mouth lifted a fraction.

Coran handed a small tablet over to Lance. “Here you are, my boy. This connects you to any of the base functions and mission information . It’s fingerprint activated and will self-destruct if a stranger tries to use it, so don’t you worry if it gets lost!”

“I downloaded music on it for your listening pleasure,” Pidge chimed in helpfully. “You’re welcome.”

Lance grinned. “Memes?”

“You know it.”

“While this is super quality bonding time between you and Blue,” Hunk said, elbowing Lance in the stomach. “We have something that’s _way_ more important than saving the world.”

“Food?”

Keith pinched the bridge of his nose. “He’s talking about the cats.”

Lance’s eyes lit up abruptly. “Oh, yeah! I get a cat?”

Shiro chuckled. “I suppose it has become tradition now, hasn’t it?”

“Yup!” Hunk said happily. “I’ve already picked up the supplies! I’m waiting on a call from Sh-my friend! She works at an animal shelter downtown!”

Lance smirked. “Downtown. So we _are_ under Arus City. Called it.”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “Took you this long? How did you think we keep the coffee shop running when a wormhole exhausts Allura completely?”

Hunk frowned, poking Keith in the arm. “Never mind that. We must prepare a feast!” Shooing everyone else out, he looked back at Lance, winking. “You should listen to that video from the previous paladin, dude. We all had them. Except Shiro. But, you know, most of us.”

Smiling, Lance nodded. “I will, buddy. Thanks.” As soon as Hunk had successfully shoved the others out of the room with promises of food, Lance sat down next to the mannequin. “Hey, Blue? Can you show me that video?”

The visor of his helmet lights up in a full screen, the image of Allura’s father taking up most of the space. _“Of course, paladin.”_ The video began to run.

_The man in the screen looks directly into the camera, tapping the lens experimentally before grinning a smile almost blindingly bright. “Oh, there we go!” He says eagerly, clapping his hands together. Clearing his throat, his expression becomes solemn, though a twinkle remains in his eyes._

_“Greetings, new paladin. I am King Alfor of Altea, and the current blue paladin.” Alfor frowned. “Though, I suppose I won’t be by the time you see this. Anyway, we thought it would be a good idea to leave messages… you know, just in case. I hope to give you this suit and the title in person, but if you’re watching this, then…”_

_The king shook his head, sighing. “Sorry, sorry. As I was saying, Voltron is a group of rebels who fight for the oppressed, whoever they may be. We are and always will be freedom fighters. You will have to do some things you would never dream of doing, whoever you may be. But… you are making a difference. You’re saving lives. You can’t save all of them. Don’t lose yourself in that. Focus on each day, and make it through as best you can.”_

_Alfor turned around at the sound of someone calling his name, waving off to the space behind him. “I’ll be there in a moment, Zarkon! Don’t let Gyrgan steal my food, thank you!” Facing back towards the camera, he hesitated._

_“If… if something has happened to me, my daughter… I intend to always protect her, no matter the cost. I pray that she is there with you. She will someday be a strong leader, but… It may be incredibly selfish, but I will always be a father first, paladin second. If you are with her… please, make sure she is safe, and, if you could, tell her that I love her.”_

_Eyes boring into the camera, Alfor gives it a confident nod. “Whoever you are, I wish you the best. And above all, blue paladin… Trust in your teammates. You will become more than comrades. You will become family. Hold them close, and do not let anything come between you. Blue paladin Alfor, out.”_

The screen went dark. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PALADINS, FOCUS (I'm sorry, I just love her so much)  
> There we go! This chapter was pretty hard to write, I wanted to convey the whole mood as best I could! Now that that's out of the way, what do ya'll should Lance's cat be like, name included? I honestly can't decide, there's just so many choices!!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A MILLION apologies for such a late update! I've been completely swamped with classwork and band! I will update sooner next time for sure! Until then, I hope you enjoy!!

As Lance stepped out of the armory, everything went red, the sickly light casting over the plain concrete walls. Then the alarms began to blare.

Lance froze, the sirens echoing through the loudspeakers disorienting him, pounding in the back of his head, echoed by approaching footsteps and even more red.

Keith grabbed Lance’s arm, pulling him along. “You’ve got your bayard and your helmet?” He asked, quickly taking stock of said items hanging from Lance’s belt.

Lance responded by clamping his hands tightly around his ears. There was too much, his mind pounding in rhythm to the alarms. Dimly, he could feel something fumbling next to his waist, unclipping his helmet and wrenching his arms from his head before slipping the piece of equipment over his face. The sound of the alarms immediately muted.

 _You appear to be distressed by loud and abrupt sound, my paladin._ Blue toned softly in his mind. _I will make sure such volumes are regulated while you wear my helmet._

Opening his eyes, Lance met Keith’s worried gaze. “I’m good,” he said quietly. “Sorry…”

Lance expected Keith to laugh at him, to tease him for his weakness. Instead he gave Lance a soft smile.

“Don’t worry about it. Allura had to turn off the flashing lights feature for me a long time ago.” As promised, the helmet only regulated the alarm. Lance could hear Keith’s voice perfectly clear, even as he was dragged jerkily along. “But we need to go. Allura says we just got a tip from an ally. Hunk said I needed to go get you. Is it true you got lost in a child’s theme park?”

Spurring himself into action, Lance moved his legs to easily keep up with Keith. “Wait, are you taking me with? And that was _years_ ago.”

Keith snorted. “Scared?”

“No!” Lance protested, wincing at the way his voice rose at the end. “Just… didn’t expect my first mission to be this soon!”

“You’ll be fine. We’ve been doing this a long enough time. You won’t be tasked to anything solo.” 

“Come along, you two!” Coran piped cheerfully from a massive doorway, waving Lance and Keith along. “I’ll be staying to monitor things, but good luck and take care!”

Lance could only give Coran a panicked look as the two paladins ran through the doorway. He almost froze as he caught sight of the rusted, dinged up van that stood in front of them. “Is that thing safe?!” He shouted over to Keith.

“Don’t ever offend my baby again, Lance.” Pidge’s voice spoke from his helmet. “She’s perfect just the way she is.”

“Should probably mention that these things are hooked up via communication links.” Keith mentioned, tapping the side of his helmet. “Though, we can’t hear each other’s artificial intelligences.”

Lance eyes the van with distrust. “I feel like it’s going to fall apart!”

Pidge leaned her head out the passenger window, taking her helmet off to fix her glasses over her nose, angling them to catch the light. “Get in the fucking robot, Shinji.”

_”Language!”_

Pidge cackled.

Keith opened the door, grabbing Lance’s arm and hauling him in with him. 

Hunk reached over to help Lance up from the van’s carpeted floor. “I know it looks bad, dude.” He said kindly, gesturing to the camper-like interior, complete with a small bed in the back and a little picnic table, which he and Pidge were already seated at. “But it’s made to look unassuming. The engine is like nothing you’ve ever seen, dude. Her walls are titanium alloy. You open the floor compartment, weapons and equipment. Bedside cabinet? The latest in medical supplies. The fridge? Delicious snacks.”

Up front sat Allura in the driver’s seat, surprisingly dressed only in a loose cardigan and jeans. Shiro stood up from the passenger’s seat from where the pair had been locked in intense conversation. He shuffled over to the one-man seat facing the table that too-closely resembled a captain’s chair from the old space exploration television show Lance used to watch with his grandparents. 

Lance raised an eyebrow at Pidge, who grinned.

“I told you, she’s perfect.”

“Nerd.”

“Oh, absolutely.”

Shiro cleared his throat, fixing Lance and Pidge with a stern gaze. “Alright, you guys. We just got word from allies that the Galra are transporting a shipment of prisoners to a new facility for testing.”

Lance looked over at Pidge in concern as he heard her breath hitch.

“Our mission is simple. Get in, get them out. Allura will stay hidden in the van and recharge for another jump. It is imperative that we are not followed back to the rendezvous point. If even a single Galra makes it through our portal, the location of a hideout could be compromised.”

Shiro leaned back, folding his arms. “Pidge will be in charge of blocking any outgoing signals coming from the Galra so that we don’t have an army fixing on our location as well as hacking into their information system to get whatever you can. Hunk, Keith, and Lance will be in charge of getting to the prisoners and breaking them out.” He gave Hunk a sympathetic smile. “Hunk, buddy, I’m sorry. I know you hate using your ability against people against their will, but charmspeaking the prisoners is the only way to ensure that they do not panic and scatter, especially if there are children onboard.”

Hunk nodded, mouth set in a firm line. “I understand. As long as I’m helping them, I’ll do it.”

Shiro’s gaze softened for a moment before he looked between Lance and Keith. “You two will be in charge of covering Hunk’s back while he escorts the prisoners. Use your strengths. Your combat abilities will do well to protect one another. As for me, I’ll be with Pidge. The control rooms are always heavily guarded, so she won’t be able to simply sneak past while invisible.”

Pidge opened her mouth, hesitating until Shiro nodded for her to go on. Pulling out her laptop, she pulled the protective case off to reveal an old, worn photograph that she gingerly passed to Lance. “These… these are my dad and brother. Please… if you see them…”

Lance gently took the picture in his hands, looking down. Staring out at the camera were three smiling faces. A boy that looked almost exactly like Pidge only older and lankier, an older man with gray hair and kind eyes, and a girl with long hair pulled in a scruffy ponytail, a cheeky grin on her face as she tightly embraced the boy next to her. Lance’s eyes widened. “Wait… but these are… these are the Holts. As in _the_ Holts that assisted Shiro in the first movement for mutant rights. _You’re_ a Holt?!”

Pidge groaned, resisting the urge to slam her head against the table. “He didn’t notice, did he?”

Keith shook his head. “Nope.”

Scratching the back of his head, Hunk smiled at Lance sheepishly. “Sorry bud, but I’m with them. The resemblance is pretty uncanny.”

Pidge sighed. “My real name is Katie Holt. Nice to make your acquaintance, I guess.”

Lance handed the photo back to Pidge. “Uh, right. And uh, I’ll do whatever I can?”

Pidge’s smile lost its snark. “Thank you, Lance.”

Shiro nodded. “Right. Now that everybody understands their roles. Lance, on missions we only use our colored codenames. The Galra shouldn’t be able to hack into our feeds, but it’s better to stay on the safe side.” He threw Lance a small fanny pack-like bag, which Lance hastily caught. “This is just a water bottle in case we’re in an environment that you don’t have easy access to water in for your ability. Everybody here is already equipped with one for you to use whenever necessary. Though, I don’t believe that will be an issue with this mission.”

Lance quickly clipped the bag around his waist, heart thundering in his chest. _I’m… I’m not ready for this…_

“It’s normal to be nervous, Lance.” Hunk said quietly, setting a comforting hand on Lance’s arm. “The first time is always the hardest. Even now though, we still get nervous.”

Keith leaned forward across the table. “Allura and Shiro don’t expect you to be flawless this time out. We’re paired up as combat partners so that I’ll have your back, and since you’re a decent sharpshooter you won’t be in the thick of it.”

Lance laughed nervously. “Wow, uh, thanks I guess? But I just… I’m not really sure I’m ready for this? Shouldn’t I just… wait until next time so that I have more training? Or stay with Allura? I don’t… I can’t hold anybody back.”

“You’re underestimating yourself, Lance.” Shiro said calmly, looking Lance in the eye. “You wouldn’t be on this mission or even this team if we didn’t believe you to be more capable than you know. Besides, in this mission you’ll be at a major advantage.”

The other paladins all looked up at this. Lance’s brow furrowed. “What?”

Shiro pressed a series of commands into the tiny keypad on his gauntlet, projecting a hologram of a cargo boat docked and being loaded by Galra employees. “This is where the mission is taking place.”

_The ocean. Water, water everywhere._

Lance grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First mission begins now!! :D If anyone is confused, the "Get in the robot Shinji" is a reference to the old anime Neon Genesis Evangelion (which Pidge would totally watch)! Please feel free to send in any requests, questions, anything!!!!! Thank you so much for reading and all your lovely reviews!!!


	12. Chapter 12

Allura looked back, tapping her fingers on the wheel impatiently. “Is everybody ready to go? The ship is scheduled to leave harbor in one hour. The loading area is completely uninhabited by by civilians, so the only people we need to worry about keeping safe are the prisoners.”

Pidge glared furiously at her computer as she typed in a long, complex password. “Trust the Galra not to do their dirty work in a big city… They’re only too happy to look like ‘heroes protecting the city from scary mutants who want to kill you’ when really they’re usually young and scared people who just want to survive… they’ll never show the public the kids mercilessly being shipped to new facilities to be tested and prodded and eventually killed in horrific ways… Dirty bastards can go fu-”

“Pidge, you’re mumbling to yourself again.” Shiro interrupted, looking entirely unaffected as he stood up to walk to the front of the van, taking the driver’s seat as Allura shifted over to the passenger’s. “Everybody, buckle your seatbelts.

Keith scoffed. “We’re about to storm a Galra ship to recover a crew of valuable prisoners that they won’t give up without a fight. I think fastening a few seatbelts is the least of our worries.”

Shiro slowly turned back around, a pleasant smile frozen on his face, eyes lit with a kind of demonic fire. “Keith?”

Lance swore Keith paled several shades.

“Buckle your seatbelts.”

The paladins hurriedly did so, causing Allura to smirk. Steepling her fingers together, her body began to glow, bathing the entire van in a soft blue light. 

Lance’s mouth fell open. _Is this the teleporting ability she told me about?_

Shiro revved up the engine, leaning back in his seat.

“Stay quiet until we get through, dude,” Hunk whispered hurriedly to Lance. “She gets mad if somebody distracts her.”

“I can hear you, Hunk.” Allura barks out, closing her eyes. In front of the van, a small, swirling portal appears, emitting a near-blinding light. Growing in size, Lance could begin to see the faint outline of an alleyway. 

“Now!”

Quickly stomping on the gas pedal, Shiro drove the van through the entrance of the portal.

Lance felt the area around him seem to shift and warp, extending to his body. Trying to gasp, he choked on nothing, chest heaving as he curled over himself. He couldn’t see anymore, he couldn’t breathe, everything was moving-

As soon as the feeling had started, it stopped. The faint sound of seagulls calling could be heard in the distance.

Shiro stepped on the breaks at the entrance to an abandoned alleyway. “Here!”

Allura abruptly released the portal, breathing heavily as she slumped back, sweat dripping from the bridge of her nose. 

Lance groaned weakly, struggling to hold in the contents of his stomach.

Beside him, Hunk did the same, only unlike Lance he didn’t succeed, gratefully utilizing the bucket Keith hurriedly shoved at him. Lance dazedly wondered if this bucket had Hunk’s name on it with his history of motion sickness.

Shiro looked back sheepishly, a comforting hand on Allura’s exhausted shoulder. “Sorry, Lance. Probably should have warned you about that, but we found it better not to describe the whole… ordeal. You’ll get better at getting through it as you experience it more.”

“Unless you’re Hunk.” Keith muttered, seemingly entirely unaffected by the trip. Beside him, Pidge was gingerly sliding her laptop away from Hunk, grimacing in disgust. 

Lance slowly straightened out, glancing at Allura’s quiet form with concern. “Will she be okay?”

Nodding, Keith unbuckled himself and Pidge, dragging the smaller paladin from the bench. “Using that ability drains her energy fast. She should be able to warp us out, but that’s it for a while.”

Nodding, Lance carefully scooted off the bench, patting Hunk on the shoulder. “Let’s go, big guy.”

Hunk nodded miserably, following Lance.

Joining the other four paladins in the back of the van, Shiro looked out the window. “Alright, team. You know the drill. Pidge downloaded the schematics of the ship into our helmets. The areas we suspect the prisoners to be in are marked in purple.” Turning to Lance, he tapped his visor. “You can keep an eye on our locations as well. We’re all color coded to our paladin colors, Allura is pink and Coran teal. Both of them will help out where they can on the coms. Sound good?”

Lance nodded numbly. “Uh, yeah, I guess.”

“Alright, then.” Shiro said, opening the van door. “Stay out of sight for as long as you can. Meet back here when I give the signal. If your communication system is disrupted, come here so Allura can fix you up. You all know the drill.”

A young woman with short, dark hair turned in the passenger’s seat, her appearance completely changed from just seconds before. “Good luck, paladins.” Allura said solemnly. “You can do this.” Her gaze focused on Lance. “All of you.”

“Let’s go, Voltron!” Shiro grinned, jumping out first with Pidge at his side.

Hunk stepped out with Lance, giving him a soothing smile. “Don’t worry, man. We’ll keep each other safe. Nothing is going to go wrong.”

Lance bumped his shoulder against Hunk’s. “Thanks, buddy.”

Slipping in front of the pair, Keith carefully surveyed the ship schematics on his visor as he walked, keeping the trio in the shadows of the abandoned city. 

“Where are we?” Lance wondered, looking around in horror at the shattered windows and broken buildings.

Keith tapped the side of his helmet.

_These are the remains of Baku City._ Blue’s soft voice answered Lance’s question. _Known as a safe haven for mutants, it was built and maintained by Luxia Queeri and operated as a powerful port for imports and exports of Altea. One of the first targets of Zarkon, it was bombed and nearly completely destroyed by the Galra. Any survivors are not listed, but unlikely to exist. The death toll was counted to be thousands, later erased from all Galran records._

“I think I’m going to be sick.” Lance said softly in horror, unconsciously pressing himself closer to Hunk’s body.

Humming, Keith looked back, the barest flicker of emotion in his steely eyes. “You have to get used to it. This is just a taste of what the Galra have done. Allowing yourself to get upset is just another weakness for them to exploit.”

Switching off his coms to private, Hunk gave Lance a sad smile. “It’s okay, dude. It still makes me sad, too.”

Lance froze as he breathed in wind carrying the scent of the sea, feeling the sensation cocoon him in comfort and reassurance. 

All too soon, Keith turned around to tug Lance into movement. “Come on,” he whispered. “We’re almost within sight of the ship.”

“Why don’t we wear camouflage or something?” Lance muttered, carefully following Keith’s footsteps. “You know, blend in?”

“It can,” Keith said softly, his voice now crackling to life in the coms system. “Green designed the suit to be able to project a hologram of any clothing, though only hers utilizes the ability of complete invisibility. But in combat we rarely use the feature. Voltron isn’t just a group of rebels. It’s a message to the Galra. When they see us, they need to know exactly who they’re dealing with. And how screwed they are.”

Lance nodded. “That… makes sense, I guess.”

“Pidge can use her invisibility as a distraction to get herself and Shiro onboard safely before the prisoner bus arrives.” Keith explained, quickly reading through the detailed plans Allura had downloaded earlier. “We need to get on board as well. Any ideas?”

The coms system crackled to life again. _“Use Blue.”_ Shiro’s voice instructed. _“Green said he can make air bubbles underwater allowing himself and others to breath. Scale up the side. Pink, can you send them an entrance point?”_

_“I’m ahead of you already!”_ Allura called out. On Lance’s visor, a porthole on the side of the ship glowed fuchsia.

Hunk stared at Lance in amazement. “You can do that?”

Keith nodded. “Copy that, Black.”

Lance shrugged helplessly. “I did it, like, once? Pi-Green fell in the pool asleep and snoring. I didn’t want her to suck in water.”

Keith failed to suppress a snort, which Lance grinned triumphantly at. Shaking his head, the red paladin peeked out from the alleyway to quickly scan the rocky shoreline. “There’s plenty of outcroppings for us to sneak into the water. Come on.” With no other warning, Keith slipped back into a branching road, staying close to the crumbled remains of buildings.

Turning his coms off for a moment, Lance gave Hunk an exasperated look. “Is he always like this on missions?” _I thought he might have been warming up to me, too…_

Smiling serenely, Hunk nodded before also temporarily switching off his coms. “It’s his way of dealing with stress, man. He’s just as bothered by everything done here as we are.”

Grumbling, Lance hurried after Keith, Hunk staying close beside him. As the scent of the sea grew stronger, so did his desire to wield it, fingers twitching restlessly. 

Back at the entrance to the boat, Lance hears the sound of a single blast of gunfire. As Galra soldiers dressed head to toe in protective gear rushed to check the entrance of the boat, he catches sight of a man rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, seeming to apologize as he pointed out a flock of birds. _He must have gotten spooked…_ After several moments, the group migrates back inside.

“Shiro and Pidge must be inside now,” Hunk whispered as they started running after Keith again. “That was Shiro in the uniform. He just snuck in with the rest of them. Our bayards can even replicate Galra weapons. Pretty cool, huh?”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “That’s… actually really smart.”

“Come on, you two!” Keith hissed, poking his head back. “I can see an entrance to the water over here. It’s blocked from view of the ship by rocks.” 

Stepping in front of Keith, Lance experimentally poked his head out from the side of the building, a strangled sound escaping his throat as he views the backyard of a family home leading straight to the ocean, a charred swing set lying on its side.

A hand on his shoulder broke Lance from his shock. Looking back, he saw Keith gazing at him grimly. 

“Come on,” Keith said simply, walking ahead. “Pidge should have set the ship’s cameras on loop by now. Let’s see if your ability can take us far enough.”

“Hey!” Lance protested, jogging to keep up. “My ability will take us plenty far!” Carefully navigating the uneven footing, he steps into the water. 

Hunk and Keith moving to stand beside him, Keith raised his eyebrows. “So… now what?”

Lance grinned, feeling the water at his feet call to him. Reaching a hand out, the water gently pulls the three deeper into the ocean. Beside him, Hunk lets out a squeak.

“Dude? A little warning next time?”

Eyes sparkling, Lance nodded. “Alright, everybody. Not sure how well this is going to work, so just in case… hold your breath.”

Then he pulled them under.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! A little bit sooner than last time, too!! I really want to give Lance's first mission the attention it deserves, so I decided to split it into a few chapters instead of just one! With that aside, I just started playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild and have become lowkey addicted. Both me and my friend were reminded of Voltron by the Celestial Beasts, so I was throwing around a Voltron crossover (still Klance, I love the dynamic between those two!) with Allura as Zelda, Keith as Link, Lance as the Zora champion, etc! There'd have to be a lot of changes to the Zelda plotline (Like having the original champions not die 100 years past but rather also be preserved in a stasis-state), but I think it'd be fun!! Would this interest anybody? As always, thank you all for any comments or suggestions about my writing style!!


	13. Chapter 13

As Lance easily pulled the three of them through the water, he looked around to examine his teammates. Hunk’s eyes were screwed shut, cheeks puffed out to hold oxygen despite the air bubble floating around his head. 

Turning to the left, he met Keith’s unimpressed glare, the red paladin’s arms folded in front of him. Grinning impishly, Lance’s eyes flicked back to the map.

Streaming around the surface of the boat, Lance’s eyes flicked over to the fuchsia porthole on his visor, three colored dots rapidly approaching the point. 

A voice crackled to life on his communications system, soft and low. _”Alright,”_ Pidge whispered, the sound of furious typing in the background. _Entry systems and cameras on a loop. You’re safe to enter, but if a guard pulls an alarm, I can’t do anything about it. Green out.”_

Lance slowly curled his hand in, drawing his companions just out of sight of the porthole. Keith pulled out his bayard, the object flashing for a moment before morphing into a long blade. He gave Lance a short nod, brow furrowed. Beside him, Hunk dared to open his eyes, hand fixed securely over the handle of his own bayard.

Swallowing thickly, Lance allowed narrowed his eyes, turning tensed fingers to the left. At his call, the water curled around each of the bolts, slowly loosening them from their threads. As the bolts drift out into open water, Lance takes a deep breath. _Like a bandaid…_

Lance ripped the porthole away from the boat, sending Keith in first with the torrent of water, followed by Hunk then himself. As soon as his feet touched solid ground, he raised his arms to keep more water from flooding in with him.

A pained grunt, the sound of weapons clashing together.

“Blue! Secure the porthole! We’ve got your back!” _Keith._

Instincts screaming to _turn around_ , Lance carefully guided the floating glass and metal into place, cradling the bolts with a gentle stream of water back towards their respective homes. 

_”Sleep.”_ A heavy thunk of armor hitting the ground. The horrible crunch of crunching metal, the sound of crackling electricity, a stifled scream. Then, nothing.

Knees shaking, Lance carefully turned the bolts into their threads, a bead of sweat rolling down his neck. Dimly, he could feel the temperature of his suit lower to cool him down.

Finally, they were locked in place.

Lance whipped around, fingers closing around the handle of his bayard, only to see Hunk and Keith looking at him with grim gazes. At their feet lay two sentries, one with a massive dent in their chestplate.

Lance felt like lead had settled over his chest. “Are they…?”

“No, dude,” Hunk shook his head, the characteristic grin on his face replaced by a deep-set frown. “I convinced one to sleep, and Keith’s sword can channel a shock to knock someone out for hours. They’ll wake up, eventually.”

Keith sighed, examining something on his visor. The fingers of his free hand rapidly tapped the side of his thighs. “Don’t sugarcoat things, Gold.” He says quietly. “These ones will be fine, but we won’t always so lucky. He’ll be forced to face such a situation eventually.”

Hunk didn’t answer, avoiding Lance’s wide-eyed gaze.

Lance could only nod numbly, swallowing back bile. _This isn’t a game anymore, is it?_

“Stay behind me,” Keith said firmly, gesturing towards the holster on his hip. “Take out your bayard. It’ll know what to do. On deck you’ll have access to water, but down here you should have something else to defend with.” Behind the tinted gray visor, his eyes softened. “Remember, based on all the tests Green made you run, your bayard’s normal form is a stun gun. And Gold and I have your back. It’ll be fine. This is far from our first mission, remember?”

Lance laughed breathlessly, fingers closing around his bayard. Warm in his hands, it quickly morphed into the weapon Keith had described. “Wow, you giving me a pep talk? Didn’t peg you as the cheerleader type.”

Keith shot him an unimpressed glare. 

Keeping his back pressed against the wall, Lance carefully examined his immediate surroundings as Keith finished planning a route to the deck area. Violet lights illuminated the twisting hallways of gleaming metal, casting an eerie glow over the area. “They really got this whole villain aesthetic going, huh?” He muttered, shoulders relaxing as he caught sight of a black and green dot in what Pidge had described to be the control room.

A wavering grin plastered to his face, Hunk chuckled. “I know, right? It’s like they’re actually _trying_ to creep us out.”

“Come on,” Keith interrupted tersely, leg jogging up and down restlessly. “We need to get in place before the bus arrives. Green will tell us when it is approaching, but even she doesn’t know exactly when it’ll arrive.”

Lance gestured vaguely in front of him. “Lead the way.”

His footsteps echoing through the hallway, Keith’s shoulders began to draw in on himself as they continued with no sight of sentries, easily traversing through several hallways and dashing past closed doors. “Something isn’t right, here. Usually we’ve had to take out at least two more sentry posts.”

“Maybe they’re just on lunchbreak?” Hunk asked hopefully, peeking around Keith’s shoulder.

“Doubtful,” Keith tilted his head to the side. “Green, Black, do you copy?”

“ _Black here. We copy, Red. Everything alright?_ ”

“Guys, I think this is a trap.” Hunk blurted suddenly, shifting from foot to foot. “I really, really feel like this is a trap.”

“What Gold is trying to say is that we haven’t come across any sentries except for a pair at the entry point.” Keith murmured into the comms system, brow furrowed. 

Lance frowned, heart beginning to pound. “B-but if this was a trap, then Hu-Gold would have sensed malicious intent or something from the sentries, right?”

“They probably wouldn’t know if it was a trap, just a pawn for the master plan, dude.” Hunk shook his head gravely. “The hunters have become the hunted.”

“ _Everybody, calm down._ ” Shiro said soothingly. “ _I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for this. I trust our sources. Still, keep an eye out. Stay close. Green and I will get to your location if things go south. Until then, carry on with the plan._ ”

“Copy that, Black.” Keith said solemnly, switching communications off. “You heard him. Let’s keep going.”

Hunk suddenly stiffened, head jerking to face behind him. “Somebody’s-”

Whirling around, Lance was met with the sight of two Galra sentries casually turning the corner, freezing at the sight of the three intruders.

Before his brain could fully comprehend the situation before him, Lance raised the gun and fired twice.

Both sentries crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

“I-I got them…”

Aware of a sudden heat beside him, Lance saw Keith’s hand alight with flame, about to launch an attack. Closing his fists, the fire extinguished. 

Keith nodded, a a ghost of a smile on his face. “You did. Nice shot.”

Lance lowered his bayard with trembling arms, eyes wide. “Yeah…”

“Now come on, we need to get moving before more arrive. Or somebody finds the sentries we’ve left behind.”

Clasping his shoulder, Hunk gently steered Lance after Keith.

_This isn’t a game anymore._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank ya'll so so so much for your comments and suggestions!!! :D The plot here continues to thicken...


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi ya'll!! I'm sorry for the delayed update (again), my guinea piggy was really sick the last two weeks from an infection, but she has healed up all good!!! :D As always, any and all comments are appreciated! If you have any prompts or suggestions or questions or just wanna chat my Tumblr is the same as my ao3 username, inkspilldragon!

Lance allowed himself to be towed behind Hunk, head spinning. Feeling Hunk’s warm hand clasped firmly around his, for just a moment he could pretend they were both back home, that his best friend was taking him to see the ice cream shop they loved to frequent a few blocks away from Hunk’s house. That they were safe.

“Blue, buddy,” Hunk said softly, warm eyes squinted with worry as he looked back at Lance’s face. “You gotta stay with me, dude. Charmspeaking you can affect your reaction timing and reflexes, so you gotta stay with me.”

Shaking his head like a wet dog, Lance forced the lingering image of the crumpled sentries from his mind. Nervous energy still pumped through his veins, heart still beating a tad faster than normal. Breathing out slowly, he gave Hunk a nod, gently pulling away his hand from his friend’s gentle grip. “I’m good.”

Keith held up a hand, stopping Lance and Hunk in their tracks. In front of them loomed a metal door labelled “Maintenance Workers Only”. Looking over the pair, his gaze lingered on Lance’s pale face a moment longer than necessary, concern etched in his features. “Alright, guys,” he said grimly, hand resting on his bayard. “We’re about to head to an overhang for the loading deck. Make sure you keep out of view of anybody down below. Don’t bother using Green’s Galra armor hologram. If we were down below we’d be killed as soon as we revealed ourselves to rescue the bus, and from a distance the flickering it creates is too obvious. We just have to keep hidden. And most importantly, _stay quiet_. If needed, I’ll make gestures. Wait for my mark to attack when the bus boards. Make sense?”

Lance blinked owlishly, the wave of information crashing right over him. “Sorry, what?”

Hunk stepped between them as Keith’s eyebrows arched up, sensing the annoyance replacing any lingering feelings of concern in Keith’s brain. 

“It’s okay, dude,” Hunk said soothingly, directed at both of his teammates. “Red means to stay hidden, and be quiet.”

Mouth opening in an understanding O, Lance made a thumbs-up with both hands, nodding silently. 

Breathing out slowly to calm his nerves, Keith nodded back, schooling his features into a neutral expression. _Patience yields focus… patience yields focus…_ Examining the door carefully, Keith frowned as he found no lock, no scanner, nothing to keep intruders out. Cautiously, he pushed the door.

It swung open easily to reveal an unoccupied walkway hanging over the main deck, removable panels at their feet for easily access to the internal workings of the ship.

“This is too easy, man…” Hunk whispered loudly.

Holding a finger up to his lips, Keith simply motioned for them to follow him, tapping the side of his helmet meaningfully. _Shiro said to follow through with the plan._

Hunk shook his head stubbornly, worried. “Yeah, but dude, he didn’t mean-”

Keith was already crouched in the walkway, motioning again impatiently for Lance and Hunk to follow him.

Lance turned to Hunk and shrugged, pocketing his bayard as he tiptoed onto the walkway, feeling the familiar pull of the ocean as the outside chill met him, his suit quickly heating up to compensate.

Swallowing down a groan, Hunk followed, carefully eyeing the sentries that stood casually at the walkway to the ship.

The communications system crackled to life. _”Alright, nerds.”_ Pidge murmured distractedly, fast typing sounds echoing through her helmet. _”I’m almost done downloading information, but we see the bus coming in. I’ll blow up their communications and data terminal as soon as the bus gets on board, big booms are an excellent distraction. If you’re failing miserably, we’ll get to you as soon as possible. Big booms are also an excellent way to make doors wherever you want in a ship. Green, out.”_

Lance gave Hunk a concerned look. “ _Bombs?_ ” He mouthed.

Hunk grinned, nodding.

Lying on his stomach beside Keith, Lance carefully peered over the edge of the walkway, heart hammering in his chest as several sentries began to gather towards the approaching prison bus, a dark-colored vehicle heavily reinforced with steel siding. Bile rose in his throat. There were people in there, possibly even children. He could have been on that bus. Somebody from his hometown, his family, friends, even the grocery store owner or florist. These were innocent people. His heart began pounding again, not with fear but with adrenaline as the bus began rolling towards the deck.

 _“Please…”_ Pidge’s soft whisper came from their helmets, her tone completely different from the focused, confident transmission she had just sent a minute earlier. Now her voice sounded young, broken. _“Please, keep an eye out for him, okay? Keep an eye out for my brother.”_

The entire ship suddenly shook with the force of a carefully placed explosion below deck, sending sentries scrambling. 

Keith quickly jumped to his feet, hauling Lance up beside him by the elbow. “Stay close to me and Hunk. Don’t let yourself get separated, even if you think you’d get a clearer shot.” He jumped from the overhang, taking Lance down with him. Hunk landed beside him a moment later.

“Hey!” Lance protested. “I can-”

“What’s this?” A voice suddenly echoed across the ship, everywhere at once, rich and sultry. “I was not informed of a new paladin.” 

Keith swore, pulling Lance behind him. “Black! It’s-”

 _“I know,”_ Shiro answered quickly, sounding out of breath. _“We’re coming, hang in there, we’re coming as fast as we can._

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there to greet you all in person,” The voice continued. The sound of helicopters and approaching vehicles filled the air. “But I suppose I shall be seeing you all soon enough. You’re surrounded, dear paladins, and by several of my own generals no less. But I am a merciful man, unlike my father. Surrender yourselves. This will be your only chance to do so.”

“Prince Lotor,” Hunk murmured to Lance. “Son of Zarkon. Next in line for the title.”

Keith stepped forward, fists ablaze. “Voltron will never submit to the Galra!” He shouted.

Lotor tutted. “Such spirit. But look outside, little red paladin. It has just started to rain. You step out in the open, your little flames get wiped out.”

Lance clenched his fists. _So they don’t know about me._

Several explosions resounded through the ship, the sound of fighting breaking out behind them.

“It looks like your leader and the little one are being taken care of as we speak of,” Lotor drawled, something akin to boredom in his voice. “Are you sure you don’t want to surrender? It’d be so much easier for all of us.”

“Never!” Keith shouted, flames spreading up to his forearms, though he stayed under the overhang. 

“Alright, then.” Lotor laughed. “My generals, please proceed.”

A green symbol suddenly flashed on Lance’s visor, a cartoonish image of Pidge’s head with swirled glasses. Confused, he turned to Hunk with a question on his lips only to promptly yanked into his friend’s embrace, hearing the familiar _schwing_ of Hunk’s round energy shield activating in front of them.

The world suddenly exploded.


	15. Chapter 15

Everything was on fire.

Lance opened his eyes, expecting to smell the acrid scent of smoke and smoldering metal, to feel the unbearable heat. Yet his body was as cool as ever, held secure in Hunk’s iron grip. His ears didn’t even ring. His armor was better than he thought. A pleased sentiment suddenly swept over his mind. _The A.I. system…_ “Uh, guys?”

He was suddenly hurled behind a stack of storage tanks to avoid a volley of gunfire, Keith already crouched behind them as Hunk threw himself beside Lance.

Nervously bouncing from foot to foot, Hunk patted Lance’s shoulder with a sympathetic grimace. “Green! Give us some more warning next time, we forgot to tell him about the bomb signal!”

A maniacal giggle came through in Lance’s helmet. _“Cheers, love!”_ Pidge crowed, a solid thunk beside Hunk and Lance marking her invisible arrival, Shiro right beside her. “The cavalry’s here!”

Lance groaned, half-hysterical. “Seriously? You blow up half a ship and the only thing you say is an old video game one-liner?” His heartbeat still thundered in his ears.

“Actually,” Pidge said pleasantly. “I also blew the circuits of their aircrafts.” A resounding _splash_ accompanied her words. Even though he couldn’t actually see her, Lance knew she was grinning. 

Shiro’s hand clamped down on Lance’s shoulder, making him jump. “Alright, everybody. Slight change of plans.” His voice, though soft, allowed no room for argument. “Gold, you get to the bus and focus on the prisoners. Green, you’re my partner. Red and Blue, protect each other. When Gold gets the prisoners out, have them jump overboard. Blue, you propel them to shore while we cover you. Make sure nothing gets through to the prisoners, alright? Everyone, activate your shields.”

Lance hurriedly joined the other members in activating a heavy band around his wrist, a flat field of energy folding out like a shield. “Will this thing really hold up against bullets?” He asked, skeptical of the thinness of the device as he twisted his arm back and forth.

“If you question my tech like that again, I will kill you.” Pidge said calmly.

“Voltron, go!” Shiro suddenly shouted, breaking out from behind the tanks. A quiet set of footsteps indicated that Pidge had followed.

Everything suddenly went into motion, too fast for Lance to wrap his brain around. Keith was suddenly pulling him along, shield raised to protect both of them as they stepped in front of Hunk. He reached for his bayard, then stopped. _Water, water everywhere…_

Lance slowed his breathing, raising his hands in front of his chest. Carefully pinpointing a nearby soldier, he swiped his arms across, feeling a rush of cool air down his spine as the water dripping down the soldier’s gun froze solid. The man tried to pull the trigger, shouting in alarm as the mechanic refused to budge. He looked over at Keith with a gleeful grin, only to be met with a tired scowl, the red paladin still holding up his shield for both of them. For a moment, Lance wondered if Keith would look like a bedraggled cat without his helmet and waterproof armor.

“...So you can freeze their guns?” Keith finally asked.

“I think so!”

Keith motioned for him to go ahead with his right hand, gleaming sword dripping water in the pouring rain. _He’d totally look like a bedraggled cat._

Lance focused his sights on the next soldier, freezing his trigger, then the next, and the next, and the next one after him. A swear slipped from his lips as the Galra promptly abandoned the guns and reached for the various close-combat weapons strapped to their side, rushing forwards. 

Letting out a harsh battle cry, Keith dove into the emerging fray, his sword flashing as he spun to avoid multiple attacks, carefully balancing on the balls of his feet as he lashed out, striking the nearest soldier on the head, the next in the ribs.

Feeling his cheeks heat up, Lance looked on in awe. Was he _blushing_?

A sizzling sound startled him into turning around, only to see a Galra convulse and collapse. 

“Uh…”

A gentle poke to his helmet. “It’s me, dumbass.” Pidge supplied helpfully. “Stop staring and start disarming. We’ve got you defended.”

Lance shook himself out of his stupor, nodding enthusiastically. “R-right!” Raising his arms again, he allowed himself to blend into his surroundings, the water falling from the sky surrounding him in a cool embrace. Eyes unfocused, he promptly swiped his arm across again, freezing several guns in one swipe, followed by several more waves.

Dimly, he could hear Shiro praising him in his helmet’s communications systems. Spreading out his hand, he could feel the footsteps of each of his teammates splashing the puddles on deck. Gaze flickering, he caught sight of Shiro viciously aiming an uppercut with a completely exposed arm, the skin seeming to glow as sent the target flying before intercepting an incoming blade, the weapon not even breaking the skin despite receiving a direct hit.

So _that’s_ what Keith meant by having an indestructible arm grafted to his body.

Allowing himself to drift further into the water’s embrace, Lance could feel sets of footsteps very different from the other Galra stilling rushing around. Light and graceful, heavy and forceful, gentle and careful, tactful and determined. Each sneaking around in different directions towards his friends. Closing his eyes, he jerked his arms up, pillars of ice rising to encase each of the four approaching enemies.

Lance was thrust back into his body, concentration breaking as a bead of sweat ran down his forehead. “Guys,” he panted, suddenly on his hands and knees. “Four people were approaching you… they were all… really confident?”

A hand made contact with his back, red gauntlets dripping water. “Blue. Where?”

Lance gave Keith a relieved grin. “Iced.”

Keith hummed. “Probably the generals. Remember Acxa?”

Strong arms pulled Lance back up his feet, though the a light tremble staggered through his limbs. He laughed breathlessly. “Wow, I didn’t know I could do th-”

_“Guys!”_ Hunk’s voice interrupted. _“I’m in the bus. Green… I’m sorry, he’s not here. But there’s a few kids with the adults, I’ve got them, uh, calmed down? But I need Blue’s help to get everyone back to shore!”_

_“Copy that, Gold.”_ Shiro affirmed, voice strained with an indiscernible emotion. _“Red, help Blue over there. Green… we’ll find him, alright? We’ll find him.”_

Pidge’s voice was barely above a whisper. _“Yeah…”_

Lance quickly located the bus, over 100 yards away. He looked over at Keith, he nodded grimly, holding his sword up. 

“You run. We’ll take out anything that comes near you guys.”

Lance nodded back, taking off at a dead sprint towards the bus. A distant soldier approaching was yanked away from his path by an invisible cord and electrocuted, Keith rushing past him to take on the next one, Shiro running to intercept another. 

Hunk exited the bus, and got hit in the shoulder, the sound of a single gunshot deafening in comparison to the chaos of fighting all around.

Someone was screaming as Hunk’s face slowly registered shock, blood beginning to trickle from the open wound. Only when Lance gasped in a breath did he realise it was him.

Lance practically slammed into the side of the bus in his haste, carefully lowering Hunk into a sitting position despite his friend’s weak protests.

Holding up his shield, Lance frantically looked for the source, the other paladins doing the same, slowing backing up towards the protective metal of the prison bus. 

Emerging from between the tanks stood Acxa, her gun held squarely in front of her. Large chunks of ice clung to her clothing, her dark, pulled-back hair covered in a thin sheen of frost. “Damn,” She said calmly, teeth chattering. “Looks like I missed.”

In that moment, Lance snapped.

He set Hunk gently against the bus as his vision went out of focus. His helmet clattered to his feet as he stood up, limbs slack and dangling like a marionette doll.

The waves began to rage. He _was_ the waves, crashing over the side of the ship. A spray of bullets aimed towards his body were suddenly embedded in a thick wall of ice. The water around him began to freeze, any remaining soldiers suddenly trapped. 

His body turned back towards the paladins, shock and terror reflected in their gazes. His face smiled, eyes glowing an unearthly blue. His hand raised, and the ice hurried to obey, encasing the bus and his friends, his _family_ in a cocoon of ice.

The storm could now truely rage.

There was now truly water everywhere, surrounding his body in a furious, protective embrace as the waves ripped all on deck from the ice holding them in place. 

When the water receded, only he and the cocoon remained.

Lance gasped for air to fill starving lungs, dropping stringlessly to the deck.

A distant smash of breaking ice and corresponding triumphant yell alerted him to his team’s successful escape.

Footsteps slammed across the deck and hands were suddenly turning Lance over forcefully, peeling his cheek away from the deck. The faces of Shiro and Keith appeared suddenly in his vision, blurred and shifting.

“Blue, can you hear me?” Shiro demanded. His voice sounded far away.

“Is he breathing?!” Came Pidge’s panicked shout, even further away.

The voices were too loud but too quiet, everything too much and not enough. Lance felt like he was floating and sinking at the same time.

“Lance!”

A harsh slap jolted him into awareness, and he blinked to meet Keith’s eyes, piercing gaze somehow managing to be equally worried and tense.

“H-Hunk.” Lance managed, grabbing Shiro’s arm and trying to pull himself up. Why was he so tired again?

“He’s alright, he’s alright,” Shiro said soothingly, his mutant arm quickly circling around Lance’s back. “Acxa’s shot didn’t hit anything vital. Pidge is patching him up. Everyone is alright. You just focus on yourself right now.”

Lance sighed in relief, slumping against Shiro’s arm. “Good…” He murmured, vision going back out of focus

“How the hell did he do that?” Keith whispered, eyes wide. 

Shiro shook his head, carefully cradling Lance close. “You of all people know that abilities can correspond to the emotional state of the user… but I’ve never seen anything quite like… _that_...”

Keith brushed the back of his hand against Lance’s forehead, earning him an owlish blink. “He’s freezing.”

Shiro nodded, passing Lance over to Keith. “Take him, you’re the warm one. The van should be here soon.”

Sure enough, the vehicle pulled up seconds later, Allura practically tumbling out of the front seat, still in disguise. “What _was_ that?!” She yelled shrilly.

Lance somehow managed fingers guns, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

“Never mind that right now!” She barked out as Keith opened his mouth to speak. “Get Lance and Hunk in the van. Keith, watch over them. Shiro, you drive the prisoner bus. Pidge, you’re my copilot.” Allura’s harsh gaze softened as she looked over the five of them, battered and exhausted.

“Let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was super hard to write, fight scenes are crazy! Things are pretty insane right now, class is swamping my soul!! BUT! I must write more!! Also my brain is yelling at me to start a BNHA fanfiction? But also I need to actually set up a valid updating schedule before I attempt that. :,) Thank you so much for the wonderful comments and everything, you guys are amazing! If you have any questions, submissions, fun stuff I'm also on Tumblr @inkspilldragon !


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very short chapter, just a sort of transition for the next one! I'm sorry I've been gone so long, I was working overseas all summer and had WAY less time than expected!! Just started the college life though and have some wonderful friends who love to do creative stuff, so I'll hopefully keep a steady update from now on! (Probably not, but here's hoping!)

When Allura said they were going somewhere for rest and relaxation, Lance wasn’t expecting to be lounging on a tropical island full of people who were supposed to be dead.

Though barely cognizant of his surroundings at the time, Lance vividly remembered the moment when the paladins and the rescued prisoners had arrived a beach of golden sand, tall swaying trees, and gentle blue waves. The beaming sun had felt like bliss on Lance’s freezing skin.

“Hey, looks like we died after all.” He had drowsily murmured.

As Allura exited the van to greet a tall, elegant woman dressed in varying shades of the richest blues Lance had ever seen, Shiro explained how this was the “new” Baku City, an island in the middle of the ocean where the few surviving refugees of the Galra attack had been able to start a new haven. Luxia Queeri had been among one of the survivors, and now continued to operate as a leader of her people, old and new. 

Of course, Lance fell asleep during this explanation and had Pidge repeat it to him the next day.

The first few days on the island were spent indoors for both Hunk and Lance to rest and heal in peace and quiet, though Shiro and Allura caved in the third time Lance snuck out of his room to sneak a glimpse of the white sand and tumbling waves outside.

Now, he lay sprawled on a long beach chair, Hunk beside him, shoulder still heavily bandaged. Curled under the shade of Hunk’s umbrella next to his chair was Pidge, a large floppy hat frequently drooping into her eyes as she typed on her hefty laptop. 

“Hey, Lance, do you need anything? More blankets?” A sweet voice called out, breaking Lance out of his reverie.

Lance turned to come face to face with a beautiful girl, her hair dyed a pastel blue and eyes sparkling. He grinned. “Hey, Plaxum! Do you have any sunscreen? You’re so bright, I think I’m burning up!”

Plaxum giggled into her hand. She had been assigned to help care for Hunk and Lance during their recovery, and seemed to be frequently amused by Lance’s antics. “Does that mean you’re feeling warmer?”

Grimacing, Lance shrugged. “Kind of?” Ever since losing control back on the ship, he still felt chilled to the bone, even in the heat of the direct sunlight. “But don’t worry about it! But I’d certainly like your number.” He winked.

From her position beside Hunk, Pidge raised her head to fix Lance with an unimpressed stare, white sunscreen streaked haphazardly across her cheeks.

“Maybe,” Plaxum said thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side before giving Lance a broad smile. “But maybe not!” Giggling again, she turned back, heading up towards the little medical center Lance and Hunk had been staying at, the place she worked. 

Lance squinted, watching her go. “She’s definitely playing hard to get.” He said, clutching his chest in mock devastation.

“Or maybe she just doesn’t want to be with a dumbass like you.” Keith interrupted, walking across the sand with his upper torso exposed to the bright sun, wearing only a pair of red swim shorts.

“Keith!” Lance gasped dramatically. “You wound me! What beautiful person _wouldn’t_ want to date me?!”

Pidge looked up again with a snarkish grin.

“Actually, don’t answer that.” Lance said hurriedly before she could open her mouth.

Hunk chuckled. “Sorry bud, but Plaxum is definitely just messing with you.”

“Alas, my team has turned against me,” Lance cried out before his body was wracked by an involuntary shiver, skin suddenly turning clammy and cold. “Why does this keep happening?”

Keith sighed, the air around him beginning to shimmer with heat waves as he sat down next to Lance. “Maybe because you overused your abilities to the point where you iced an entire ship and basically created a mini tsunami?”

“Yeah,” Lance said, leaning closer to Keith gratefully. “But it was _cool_.”

Hunk hummed, staring out at the waves. “Nah, it was pretty terrifying, actually. Like, I thought I was gonna die, then I thought _we_ were gonna die, then I thought _you_ were gonna die. It was a wild time.”

Lance went silent, looking down at his hands.

Hunk immediately backtracked. “But like, dude, I wasn’t actually worried that you were gonna kill us. I mean, after all, you protected us!”

“But you’re right, I could have easily hurt you guys.” Lance said anxiously, closing his hands into fists. “I don’t even remember any of it, I just remember… losing it… I could have _killed_ you all… and I wouldn’t even remember it. If it happens again, I could…”

“Lance.” Keith interrupted bluntly. “Hunk is right. You saved all of us, and made sure we wouldn’t be harmed in your attack. Even when you lost control, you made sure we would be fine. I don’t believe things would be different if it happened again.”

Pidge closed her laptop, propping herself up with Hunk’s armrest. “Besides. You haven’t _actually_ had any training with your ability. Frankly, it’s amazing you’ve gotten this far without an accident. You’ll be able to work on it.”

“And if you do attack us,” Keith shrugged. “We’d just kick your ass.”

Lance smiled wanly. “I guess so.”

“Team bonding?” Coran shouted out excitedly from across the beach, waddling over the sand with a massive cooler in his arms. “Wonderful!”

Beside him walked Shiro and Allura, both stunning in swimwear. 

“Close your mouth, Lance.” Pidge said flatly.

Allura rolled her eyes as she approached, laying out a pink beach towel beside Pidge. “Shiro and I have been discussing things,” she said pleasantly, taking a seat. “We’ve agreed that, unfortunately, it would most likely be best to get back to the base soon. Even with some of us a little out of commission, we can at least take on a few smaller missions.”

“When do we leave?” Keith asked seriously, Lance pouting as his heat dissipated.

“Tomorrow!”

Lance groaned.


	17. Chapter 17

“Allura…” Lance groaned, stretching out the name to the fullest extent as he hung off of her arm. “Take me with you!” In front of them stood the kitchen table, Pidge’s tablet projecting the holographic layout of a Galra base in the air. The rest of the team huddled around, all suited-up except for Lance, Hunk, and Coran.

Chuckling, Allura peeled Lance’s fingers from her wrist with ease, paying no attention as he faceplanted onto the concrete floor. “We’ve been over this, Lance.” She said, trying and failing to sound stern. “You and Hunk are still need time to heal.”

Lance pulled himself off the floor, draping himself over Pidge this time. “But I’m _bored_. And completely healthy!” He reluctantly stood up on his own when Pidge held up her bayard in silent warning.

“You almost _died_ the last time you went out, Lance.” Keith interrupted seriously, folding his arms. “We don’t want you to put you back in the field until we’re sure you’ll be okay.”

Scooping up Big from the floor, Lance crooned, holding the tiny cat to his face and kissing its whiskers. “Aw, Keef, you _do_ care about me.”

Keith’s brow furrowed, tilting his head to the side. “Of course I care about you, Lance. You’re my teammate.” 

Ears suddenly burning, Lance looked up. “Oh… I, uh-AH!” He screamed as Big batted him across the face, claws unsheathed. “Hunk, my man, your cat is trying to kill me!”

“Don’t be mean to the little guy!” Hunk said chidingly with a knowing grin, plucking the little creature from Lance’s arms. The cat immediately let out an enormous rumble of delight, sinking bonelessly into Hunk’s large hand. “See? He doesn’t mean any harm.”

“Alright, team.” Shiro interrupted with an amused grin. “You heard the plan. I’m sorry, Lance, but Allura and Keith are right. We’ll get you back into the swing of things soon. Voltron, let’s go!” 

As Pidge walked past with the rest of the team, she gave Lance a smirk, waggling her eyebrows.

Lance glared, unimpressed.

“Oh, come on, Lance,” Hunk said cheerfully as the room emptied, Coran tagging along to make sure the van was in top shape. “I was thinking we could go out, just the two of us. I got permission from Allura earlier, so they know where we are. There’s somebody I’ve been meaning to introduce you to. Two somebodies, actually.”

Brightening up instantly, Lance grabbed Hunk’s unslinged arm. “Is it your _girlfriend_?” he grinned sharkishly, a gleam in his eye. “Pidge told me you had one!”

“I don’t have a girlfriend!” Hunk said hurriedly, setting Big down and ushering Lance out into one of the many sprawling hallways of the base. “She’s just a friend! That’s a girl!”

“Sounds an awful lot like a girlfriend to me.”

“Nope!” Hunk balked, dragging Lance hurriedly behind him.

After several minutes of relentless teasing and an elevator ride later, Hunk opened the door leading to the storage room of Coran’s coffeehouse, pulling Lance outside through the back entrance. “Come on!”

Lance blinked bright sunlight out of his eyes, assaulted with the sounds of citylife. He hadn’t heard the constant hum of people, cars, sirens in months. 

To be honest, he hadn’t quite missed it, either. He preferred the sound of waves on a beach, the quiet roar of his family in their tiny farmhouse. _That_ was the noise he preferred.

Hunk kept ahold of Lance’s hand, swinging it back and forth as they walked along, humming a tune under his breath. Something that he used to play on his ukulele, Lance remembered with a pang.

Lance took in a shuddering breath, not trusting himself to speak for a moment. He remembered, years ago, him and Hunk walking like this to and from school every day, to the ice cream parlor. He remembered going them watching the television together when they were supposed to be doing homework instead, Lance leaning forward to catch a glimpse of his hero on the screen, Takashi Shirogane.

The interviews used to be about what movies Shirogane would be starring in next, what gala he was meant to be attending. But as time went on, things began to change. The Shirogane on film began to collect harsher lines and tired eyes. Footage from handheld devices showed rallies and protests held by the Takashi himself, demanding the Galra restore mutant rights. He was always flanked by an older man with kind eyes behind rimmed glasses, Sam Holt. To Lance, Takashi Shirogane became not just an idolized celebrity, but a source of hope.

Other news channels featured an increasingly long list of missing persons, of cities taken into the full ‘leadership’ of the Galra. Eventually, Takashi Shirogane’s name appeared on that list, and Lance was crushed. Because if Shiro couldn’t stand up to the Galra and make it, the what could someone like him do?

“Lance.”

He jumped, torn from a long stream of thought. “Yeah?”

“I’m an empath, remember?” Hunk said gently, looking over at his best friend. “You’re being angsty.”

Lance grinned, swinging their hands up and dancing to the side to avoid stepping on a piece of litter. “You know me, Hunk. I’m the angstiest of the angsty.”

Hunk hummed. “I won’t push you, buddy, but I’m always here to talk.” He stopped in front of an abandoned storefront building, broken glass scattered over the sidewalk, a Galra poster plastered over the boarded doors. 

“For the safety of all,” Lance read out loud, struggling to keep bile from rising in his throat. “Report any and all mutant sightings to the Galra or face the law.” Below the colorful, almost comic words read a phone number for people to call. He remembered this place, a small diner owned by a kind elderly couple. Though they hadn’t been hiring, the elderly woman had sweetly given him a meal, insisting that he ‘needed some meat on his bones’. 

Lance wondered if they were even still alive.

“I know buddy,” Hunk said darkly, tugging Lance along. “I know.”

Lance swallowed thickly. “How long has this been happening?” He asked quietly. “There’s more, right?”

Hunk nodded. “I steered clear of the worst of it. It’s been like this since they took over Arus City, the very weekend you were almost abducted.” He looked down, stepping over a thick crack in the pavement. “We can’t save everyone. Not yet.”

A mother and child walked past them, the little boy excited tugging at his mom’s hand with sticky fingers, sugary residue smeared on his face as he giggled maniacally a lollipop in his free hand, teddy bear tucked under an arm. His mother smiled fondly, allowing the boy to lead her on.

“Do you miss them?” Lance murmured, watching the small family walk past. “Your family.”

“Of course.” Hunk pulled Lance along, fiddling with his orange headband. “For a long time I just wanted to leave and go home, even if it meant endangering my moms. I was that homesick. But then I figured something out.”

“What?”

Hunk turned his head towards Lance, smiling warmly. “That we can change things so that nobody has to leave their family again.” He brightened. “We’re here!”

In front of the pair stood a small building, short in contrast to the many high rises around it. Unlike the diner, the door remained propped open, bright light flooding from inside to illuminate the toys and cages in the window display. The neatly painted sign read “ _Balmera Pets_ ”.

“A pet store?” Lance asked, tilting his head to the side. 

“It’s cat time!” Hunk crowed, walking inside to a warm, clean interior. Large tanks lined the walls, occasionally housed by rodents and reptiles. In the back, a large window opened to a massive room filled with little towers and hanging fixtures with _cats_. “Come on!”

“Hunk? Is that you?” A girl’s voice called out from the back. The door quietly opened with care, revealing a tall, broad-shouldered young woman with warm-toned skin and soft features. Her dark hair was plaited neatly behind her head, exposing gold hooped earrings.

Hunk’s face lit up. “Shay!” He cried out, dropping Lance’s hand to run forward and embrace her. “I missed you!”

Shay giggled, peeking out from over Hunk’s shoulder. “You must be Lance.” She smiled shyly, fidgeting with her hands. “Hunk has told me a lot about you.”

Lance grinned, noting the way Hunk’s eyes never left Shay’s face, the way she brushed gently against Hunk’s shoulder. “It’s nice to meet you, Shay.” He said, holding out his hand.

Shay hesitantly reciprocated, though her grip was firm. “Anybody Hunk likes is a good person.” She leaned forward, glancing left and right quickly. “I know what happened, how you saved his life back on the ship. I thank you very much for that.”

Hunk quickly waved Lance’s panic down. “Relax, dude. She’s one of us.”

Smiling, Shay nodded, adjusting one of the displays. “I can speak to animals, all of us here can. I might not be able to help that much, but I’m part of the Resisita-”

“Shay!” A short voice barked out, causing the said woman to whirl around in a panic. A young man stood at the back door, similar in features to Shay but far more angular, his eyes missing the same sloping laugh lines. 

“R-Rax!” Shay stuttered, jumping away from Lance and Hunk. “They’re customers, here to pick up a cat.”

Rax’s eyes coolly passed over Lance, who felt goosebumps prickle up his arms. “The white one, correct?” He disappeared into the back for a minute, leaving Lance to suffer in awkward silence with Hunk and Shay before returning with a ball of fluff in his arms. “Here she is. Now they can leave.”

“I-I’ll gather you some supplies!” Shay squeaked, running off to fill a basket with food and toys, handing Hunk a small carrier along the way.

Lance couldn’t help but gasp as a little face emerged from the pile of fur lying complacently Rax’s grip, a tiny pink tongue escaping to link a pale nose. Rax unceremoniously dumped the all-white cat into Lance’s arm, though not ungently. “I _love_ her.”

Rax left with Hunk to the register, leaving Lance with a breathless Shay. “Hunk told me about your personality,” She babbled animatedly, all shyness forgotten as she reached over to pat the cat’s head. “And I thought this little princess fit very well! Please take good care of her!”

Lance grinned widely as the cat began to rumble in his arms, sprawling out to fill more space than a creature of her size should be able to. She looked up, blinking slowly with wide, blue eyes. “Oh, I _will_. Does she have a name?”

Shay smiled sweetly. “Azul. We thought it was a very pretty name for her eyes, don’t you think?”

Reluctantly placing Azul in her carrier, Lance and Hunk were practically shoved out the door by Rax, though Lance noticed Shay brush her hand against Hunk’s with a soft word.

“Geez!” Lance sputtered as the front door slammed shut. Shay waved from behind Rax apologetically. “Somebody needs some manners.”

Hunk waved back, turning Lance’s shoulder to walk back towards the coffee shop. “Rax isn’t bad. He just wants to keep Shay safe. Their parents were deported and forced to work for the Galra. She’s all he has.”

“Oh…” Lance said guiltily, clutching the cat carrier close. 

“Not your fault, dude. You didn’t know.” Hunk opened his hand, a scrap of hastily scribbled parchment resting in his palm. “Though, it looks like we might have a new mission to go with your new cat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that some of the background information cleared some things about this AU up! Shay is my lady, and I would die for her.Thank you to users Kiva, KH_Maria, and SalParadiseLost for your kitty suggestions!! All of them were so good!!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! This is my first fanfiction ever published, so I would definitely really appreciate any constructive criticism you can give me! :D I should be able to post updates at least once every week, so I hope you guys can stick around!!


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